PNRR RAISE project: MOLIRIS – Autonomous Vineyard Robot for Precision Viticulture

AUTONOMOUS MOBILE ROBOTS FOR
NAVIGATION BETWEEN VINE ROWS
AND AUTOMATED VINE PRUNING

The RAISE Project

The RAISE – Robotics and AI for Socio-economic Empowerment project is one of the 11 Innovation Ecosystems funded by the European Union through the NextGenerationEU programme.

PNRR MUR – M4C2 – Investment 1.5 – “Innovation Ecosystems” call.

RAISE promotes the development of advanced technologies based on robotics and artificial intelligence, with particular attention to ecorobotics: an approach combining ecology and engineering, where robotic systems become operational tools for monitoring and sustainably managing the environment and territory.

The project fosters collaboration between universities, research centres and companies in order to develop innovative technologies capable of improving infrastructure safety, natural risk management and agricultural automation.

Info Solution’s Role
Within Spoke 3, dedicated to technologies for environmental protection and infrastructure monitoring, Info Solution contributes to the development of autonomous robotics systems through four technological products:
Product 2.1 – Autonomous robot for monitoring critical infrastructures
Product 3.3 – Autonomous robot for inspection of buildings in pre- and post-earthquake scenarios
Product 5.4 – Autonomous robot for precision agriculture applications in vineyards
Product 5.9 – MOLIRIS autonomous navigation kit for mobile robots

Product 5.4 – Autonomous Robot for Vineyards

The project focuses on the development of robotic technologies to automate winter pruning of grapevines, one of the most complex and labour-intensive operations in viticulture.

Within the RAISE project, Info Solution developed the autonomous navigation system for the robotic rover, while IIT – Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia developed the robotic pruning arm.

The autonomous vineyard robot developed by Info Solution moves along the vineyard rows carrying the robotic arm, which analyses the structure of the vine and performs the pruning operations, forming an integrated robotic platform for vineyard automation and precision viticulture.

Robot navigation operates without predefined maps, thanks to LiDAR sensors and real-time perception algorithms that allow the system to detect vine rows and move autonomously between the plants.

Info Solution’s Contribution: Autonomous Navigation in Vineyards

Within Product 5.4, Info Solution developed a solution for autonomous navigation for agricultural robots based on the MOLIRIS platform.

The system enables the robot to move autonomously along the vineyard rows, maintaining its trajectory between the vines and automatically detecting the end of the row in order to perform the turning manoeuvre towards the next one.

This approach allows the robot to operate in dynamic agricultural environments, where vegetation growth quickly makes static maps obsolete. In addition, GNSS/GPS signals can lose reliability between vineyard rows, making navigation based on real-time environmental perception essential.

Technologies Developed

🔹 Map-free autonomous navigation
The robot uses LiDAR sensors and real-time perception algorithms to detect vineyard rows and guide the vehicle between the vines.

🔹 Row-centred navigation
The system automatically keeps the rover centred within the row, adapting to plant geometry and vegetation variability.

🔹 End-of-row detection
The robot identifies the end of the row and automatically performs the manoeuvre required to enter the next one.

🔹 Integration with the robotic arm
The rover developed by Info Solution operates in coordination with the robotic pruning arm developed by IIT, which performs the vine cutting operations.

Benefits for Precision Viticulture

🍇 Reduction of manual labour in vineyards → automation of traditionally manual agricultural operations

🍇 Higher pruning precision → improves vine health and grape production quality

🍇 Autonomous navigation between vineyard rows → the robot can operate even in vineyards with constantly changing vegetation

🍇 Advancement of precision viticulture → introduction of autonomous vineyard robots and robotic pruning technologies for agricultural automation.

🚀 A step forward in the use of autonomous robotics for agriculture and the sustainable management of crops.

The functionalities developed within this project are part of the MOLIRIS robotic platform, the system of autonomous mobile robots developed by Info Solution for applications in monitoring, inspection and automation.

The technologies developed in Product 5.4 have been integrated into the MOLIRIS autonomous navigation kit (Product 5.9), a modular platform designed for autonomous mobile robots operating in multiple scenarios, including critical infrastructure monitoring, post-earthquake inspections and precision agriculture.

📄 The official RAISE project website also covered the story:
👉 Read the full article on raiseliguria.it

Applications of the MOLIRIS Platform within the RAISE Project
The technologies developed within the RAISE project have been applied to several operational scenarios through the MOLIRIS robotic platform, the autonomous navigation system developed by Info Solution for mobile robots operating in complex environments.

Details
Lead Organisation: IIT DLS
Partners: IIT DLS, Info Solution
Actual start date: 01/10/2022
Project completion date: 30/04/2026
Project code: ECS00000035
CUP: B13D21011640004

Overall Support for the Four Products Developed by Info Solution within the RAISE Project
Approved expenditure € 831,216.65
Approved funding € 570,162.63