Kubota Corporation <6310> announced on the 11th that their product, the NEWGREEN automatic weeding robot "Aigamo Robo", won the "Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Award" at the 11th Robot Awards.

The Robot Awards, jointly organized by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the Japan Machinery Federation, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and four other ministries, commend robots and research and development related to robots that are considered to contribute significantly to the creation of future markets and have high expectations for them, as well as talent development in the field.

The Aigamo Robo operates on clean energy from photovoltaic technology, autonomously traversing through rice paddies, rolling up soil, and depositing it on the seeds and sprouts of weeds to suppress weed growth. In demonstration tests, the introduction of Aigamo Robo resulted in a 58% reduction in mechanical weeding frequency, highlighting its potential as a labor-saving weed control technology in organic rice cultivation.