Dr Piotr Zapotoczny, Prof. UWM, from the Faculty of Technical Sciences at the University of Warmia and Mazury (UWM) in Olsztyn, has been working for a year on an autonomous robot that operates a farm raising insects for food.

The forerunner of insect farming for feed purposes in Poland is the Tenebria company from Lubawa. Last year, it received a grant from the National Centre for Research and Development to study the development of a production technology for the mealworm for feed purposes. Professor Bakuła from UWM became the research manager for this grant. One of the project tasks is to develop a robot to operate the farm. The team working on this includes Dr Piotr Zapotoczny.

“My task is to develop a computer programme for an autonomous robot to operate a farm. Autonomous, i.e. one which will move around the farm on its own and perform all the actions while handling insects”, explains Prof. Zapotoczny, adding that the robot will perform its actions repetitively, always with great care. “The robot will not get bored with the work, will not be disgusted by the insects and will not demand payment”, he adds.

The project is scheduled for completion next year.