A rather strange device has been operating in the Angélus vineyard these last few weeks. A robot in fact by the name of Ted, which is a silent, driverless, over-the-row tractor made by the Toulouse company Naïo Technologies.

Ted is an electric, autonomous over-the-row tractor that weighs far less than a conventional over-the-row tractor operated by a driver. Ted works the soil under the vine rows using mechanical tools that pull out weeds and unwanted grass. We are today using a prototype that is already highly developed but not quite autonomous yet. You will therefore notice it still operating under the supervision of a member of our technical crew who carefully monitors the quality of the work, adapts the new tools and records any problems that may arise. These are processed and corrected by the teams at Naïo Technologies, thus allowing Ted to evolve at speed.

This is a real research and development contract agreed between Angélus and Naïo Technologies. Each technical team is learning from each other and shares a common aim: move forward together in order to help this pioneering, soil-friendly device to evolve and contribute to the ongoing enhancement of the Angélus vineyard and, on a wider level, to the French agricultural robot sector as a whole.