The first ROBOFARM to open in Japan: Entirely autonomous factory will produce 30,000 heads of lettuce a day and increase to half a million within five years

  • Spread aims to increase from 30,000 heads of lettuce a day to 500,000
  • Uses vertical farming, which increases production and reduces waste
  • Robots can do all steps of farming expect for planting seeds
  • Firm believes its farmers can now develop sustainable farming methods

A Japanese firm plans to grow 30,000 heads of lettuce a day with an entire staff of robots in 2017.

By automating steps of the planting process, robots will 'chop personnel costs by about half and decrease energy expenses by one third'.

Spread believes this move will also allow its group of human farmers to focus on developing sustainable farming methods and learn how to produce better quality vegetables.

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Spread plans to grow 30,000 heads of lettuce a day by replacing its human farmers with robots in its Japanese factory

Spread plans to grow 30,000 heads of lettuce a day by replacing its human farmers with robots in 2017. By automating every step of the planting process, the robots will 'chop personnel costs by about half and decrease energy expenses by one third'

SPREAD'S ROBO-FACTORY

Spread already produces 7.7 million heads of lettuce in its artificially-lit vegetable factory in Kameoka, and its Vegetus brand is sold in 2,000 stores around Japan.

Construction of its Kizugawa factory is scheduled to start in spring next year and should be completed by the following summer.  

It will cover 51,665 square feet (4,800 sq metres) and cost up to 2 billion yen (£10.8 million or $16.7 million). 

This includes the costs of researching and developing the machinery. 

Although Spread hopes to automate every process, human farmers are still need to confirm germination, and the robo-farmers can't yet successfully carry out the seeding process because the seedlings are so fragile.

The futuristic factory will be built at Kansai Science City in Kizugawa, Kyoto Japan by the middle of 2017 and will be an upgrade to Spread's existing indoor farm, the Kameoka Plant.

The plant currently produces 21,000 heads of lettuce a day using a small human staff.

The farm, measuring about 4,400 square metres (47,300 square feet), will have floor-to-ceiling shelves where the produce is grown.

'Seed planting will still be done by people, but the rest of the process, including harvesting, will be done (by industrial robots),' company official Koji Morisada told AFP.

The move to robot labour would chop personnel costs by about half and knock energy expenses down by nearly one third, Morisada added.

The pesticide-free lettuce will also have more beta carotene than other farm-grown lettuce, the company said.

Spread uses vertical farming, which is a method of urban agriculture that grows produce in vertical stacks indoors and uses LED light.

Not only does this technique increase production, but it also reduces waste and eliminates runoff from toxic chemicals such as pesticides.

The pesticide-free lettuce will also have more beta carotene than other farm-grown lettuce, the company said. 

Spread is developing sensors that will produce data about how certain types of crops grow on the urban farm.

Construction of the Kizugawa factory (illustrated) is scheduled to being in spring next year and should be completed by the following summer, with shipments beginning in the second half of 2017. It will cover 51,665 sq ft (4,800 sq metres) and cost up to 2 billion yen (£10.8 million or $16.7 million) 

Construction of the Kizugawa factory (illustrated) is scheduled to being in spring next year and should be completed by the following summer, with shipments beginning in the second half of 2017. It will cover 51,665 sq ft (4,800 sq metres) and cost up to 2 billion yen (£10.8 million or $16.7 million) 

WHY VERTICAL FARMING?

Decreases Agricultural Runoff

Allows farms to grow crops year round and in most environments

Resilient to climate change

Uses up to 98 % less water compared to open field agriculture

Local food really is local food, as people do not have to travel long distances for home grown vegetables 

Helps repair the damage that has been done to the ecosystem

Promotes restoration of damaged ecosystems

Higher yields and faster growth rates 

Source: Association for Vertical Farming

This technology will alert the human workers if the crop doesn't grow properly and they can adjust the technique.

Although Spread is eliminating some human jobs, the firm noted its human framer's will have more time to focus on investigating and developing sustainable farming methods and learn what techniques work to produce better quality produce.

Construction of its Kizugawa factory is scheduled to being in spring next year and should be completed by the following summer, with shipments beginning in the second half of 2017. 

The entire farm will cover about 47,300 square feet with floor-to-ceiling shelves, which is where the produce will be grown.

The farm, measuring about 4,400 square meters (47,300 square feet), will have floor-to-ceiling shelves where the produce is grown.

It will cover 51,665 sq ft (4,800 sq metres) and cost up to 1.7 billion yen (£10 million or $14. million) which includes the costs of researching and developing the machinery.

Although Spread hopes to automate every process, human farmers are still currently needed to confirm germination. The robo-farmers can't yet successfully carry out the seeding process either, because the seedlings are so fragile

Although Spread hopes to automate every process, human farmers are still currently needed to confirm germination. The robo-farmers can't yet successfully carry out the seeding process either, because the seedlings are so fragile

Although Spread hopes to automate every process, human farmers are still currently needed to confirm germination. 

The robo-farmers can't yet successfully carry out the seeding process either, because the seedlings are so fragile. 

'Seed planting will be done by people, but the rest of the process, including harvesting, will be done by industrial robots,' a spokesperson for the company. 'It will cut personnel costs by around half and knock energy expenses down by a third'.

The firm's move for a complete robotic staff will reduce labor costs by 50 percent, energy by 30 percent and recycle 98 percent of water needed to to grow its crops, it claims

The firm's move for a complete robotic staff will reduce labor costs by 50 percent, energy by 30 percent and recycle 98 percent of water needed to to grow its crops. The pesticide-free lettuce will also have more beta carotene than other farm-grown lettuce

In a press release last year, Spread said it 'will start the sequential shipment of goods from 2017 with the construction of the new factory' and plans to have a production system of 80,000 heads of lettuce per day.

'In addition, we will expand the scale of production to 500,000 heads of lettuce per day in five years and will continue to expand our Vegetable Factory business domestically and internationally,' the firm continued.  

Spread isn't the only firm developing vertical lettuce farms in Japan. 

Plant physiologist Shigeharu Shimamura recently set up an industrial-scale farm inside a factory in Japan. 

Spread isn't the only firm developing vertical lettuce farms in Japan. Plant physiologist Shigeharu Shimamura recently set up an industrial-scale farm inside a factory in Japan (pictured). It is nearly half the size of a football field (25,000 sq ft) and uses 17,500 LED lights spread over 18 cultivation racks, reaching 16 levels high

Spread isn't the only firm developing vertical lettuce farms in Japan. Plant physiologist Shigeharu Shimamura recently set up an industrial-scale farm inside a factory in Japan (pictured). It is nearly half the size of a football field (25,000 sq ft) and uses 17,500 LED lights spread over 18 cultivation racks, reaching 16 levels high

Closely controlled using specially-designed LED lamps, the farm is nearly half the size of a football field (25,000 square feet) and is built in a former Sony Corporation semiconductor factory in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture.

This farm uses 17,500 lights spread over 18 cultivation racks, reaching 16 levels high - and these lights are used to mimic day and night.

By monitoring the photosynthesis process carefully, the system grows lettuce two-and-a-half times faster than an outdoor farm.


   

 

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