Farm-bot to the Rescue!

Where We Call Home.

Japanese agriculture struggles with labor shortages - a situation one young man is hoping to change.

Delicious!

Twenty-eight-year-old Tamir Blum, from Israel.

He's working to develop an AI-operated robot farm worker.

Making use of tech featured in lunar rovers, it's designed for tasks like carrying harvested produce.

It's exciting.

I think agriculture has been lagging in terms of IT technology.

And so, kind of, because it's been lagging for so long, I think it's very overdue.

And there is lot that can be done rapidly to improve the situation on the farms.

But the path isn't without obstacles.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!

Tamir is devoting his life to developing robots.

Will his "farm worker on wheels" be successful?

Let's tag along to find out!

Located east of Tokyo is Chiba City, where industry,

government and academia join forces to support local entrepreneurs.

Last year, a new robotics company was set up in this building.

At the helm is CEO and robot developer Tamir Blum.

He employs three specialists, each from a different part of the world.

Also collaborating in the project is this engineer based overseas.

I'm working fully remotely from Sweden.

This is actually our first time meeting in person.

Nice to finally meet you.

Tamir and his team are developing a robot with an integrated AI

that memorizes its position and the terrain to navigate autonomously.

It features state-of-the-art lunar rover technology.

They're now doing repeated testing and adjustments on their third prototype.

The team had never developed a robot for farm work before.

It's a continuous process of trial and error.

Can you try again?

Click it, or leave and come back?

Uh, push it.

It's not.

Not sure why.

I gotta check it.

OK.

After studying space robotics at an American university, Tamir came to Japan for the first time in 2015.

Having heard of Tohoku University's cutting-edge research in the field,

he applied for a three-month internship there.

So, when I came in 2015, I didn't know any Japanese, and I didn't study either.

But then actually, basically, I really liked it in Japan after I came here.

And so, I really liked here and the fact that, like, it's easy to live, the people are nice

and, like, the nature is beautiful.

Wishing to pursue his studies in Japan, he entered the university's doctoral program.

His idea to develop robots for use in agriculture came to him when he visited farms in the Tohoku district.

He came to know serious issues farmers struggled with, such as labor shortages

and the aging of the population.

In particular, like, having been able to travel the countryside and meet farmers,

I could tell the potential for robotics to solve some of the labor shortages and

the very physical burden that I could see that they were facing directly.

So, of course, I think it's very important to explore space, but there's also very many problems

on earth right now, and I think robotics can solve some of them.

In February 2021, he launched a crowdfunding campaign to begin developing his farm worker robot.

This was the video promoting the campaign.

It introduced the difficulties farmers face, and how robots could be a solution.

Tamir, who grew up in a mountainous region away from the city, understood the farmers' plight.

Seven months later, he founded his company.

He named it Kisui Tech.

The word "Kisui" is made up of characters that mean "shiny" and "green,"

expressing Tamir's wish for a bright future verdant with nature.

Actually, Tamir has another reason for wanting to create a robotic farm worker.

My girlfriend prepared this.

Nice, isn't it?

He enjoys a homemade lunch every day.

She even wrote me a lovely message.

'Work hard and have fun!!'

Tamir is in fact vegetarian.

He loves the rich variety of fruit and vegetables produced in Japan,

and wants to help preserve this "culture of agriculture."

Tasty.

I love mushrooms.
There are so many kinds in Japan.

"Shiitake, eringi, enokitake..."
There aren't that many kinds in the US.

I've discovered them in Japan.
I eat a lot of mushrooms.

Tamir is currently planning to start a robot rental service next April.

In preparation for that, the team is working on perfecting the robot's "follow mode"

- a feature that will have it tag along with a human worker.

They're currently checking the robot's ability to stop when it gets too close to the person

and to start moving again when it's too far.

Also just increasing the quality of follow mode, and, like, making... getting some more feedback about,

like, real-case use of follow mode so that we can refine it for, like, real farm usage.

This October, Tamir and his crew headed to an apple orchard to put the robot to the test.

Hirosaki City in Aomori Prefecture is 550km north of Chiba.

Cool summers and a wide difference in day-night temperatures make ideal conditions to grow delicious apples.

The region is in fact the number one producer in Japan.

But agriculture in Hirosaki too is affected by the aging population and labor shortages.

The average age of farmers here is 63, and with a lack of successors, the number of orchards is decreasing year by year.

Good morning.
Thanks for having us.

Making his orchard available to test the robot is Akaishi Jun-ichi,

who's been supporting Tamir in his research for two years now.

Assisting Tamir who isn't very confident in his language skills is the company's only Japanese employee, Hayasaka Masaki.

The workers move from tree to tree.
How can the robot keep up?

- It tracks a phone's Bluetooth signal.
- Wow!

If it loses the signal, it could use GPS.

Harvesting season has reached its peak.

Apples are placed in baskets which are carried around the orchard by a tractor.

Each basket weighs about 8kg.

The tractor has to go back and forth between the point of harvest and the place where the apples are sorted.

Tamir thought of having the robot do all this heavy work.

And the testing begins.

First, they check to see if the robot can smoothly negotiate the terrain with a load of several full baskets.

- I think six should be OK.

- Yeah it was ‘fine-ish' with six.

- Six to ten kilos, maybe like sixty kilos.

A left turn.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!

It's just... It's just sliding!

With the ground wet from yesterday's rainfall, the robot is literally spinning its wheels.

Traction and torque must be added to the list of things to improve.

Next, the most important feature: follow mode.

This is the first time they do an actual practical test.

They'll be checking how well it can follow someone over irregular terrain covered with vegetation.

A bit further.

It lost me?

Although the robot managed to trudge along, another problem has emerged.

Because it always moves at the same speed,

the robot tends to lose track of the worker if he or she picks up the pace.

Too slow.

A function that'll allow the robot to match the worker's speed is necessary.

Ways of working will likely be different
from one farmer to the other.

We'll make the following distance
and speed adjustable.

It's exciting.

If they add a variety of functions,
it could be used for many things

like spraying herbicides, for example.

Robots don't get tired.
They can keep working.

As a business leader, raising funds is another important part of Tamir's work.

His company already receives financial support from investors and the government,

but developing robots is a costly endeavor.

Today, he and Hayasaka take part in an event that offers farming-related

businesses opportunities to meet and exchange.

Finding joint developers and/or additional investors could help optimize

the company's research process and environment.

Good afternoon.
I'm Tamir Blum, CEO of Kisui Tech.

Let me tell you about the robots
we develop and the future of farming.

He promotes the appeal of his project entirely in Japanese.

Our robot uses moon rover tech
to move over rough terrain.

It can make farming more cost effective,
and more appealing to young people.

Tamir's project is drawing a lot of interest.

A vineyard we work with is struggling
with the aging of its staff.

A robot could help carry their produce.

Tamir reaffirmed his conviction that he's on the right track.

The team does further testing at a farming research facility.

They've modified the robot's programming so it can match the worker's speed.

Let's see how it fares.

So, from this distance, just, like, walk slowly, like chicken steps.

And stop! And go. And stop. And go. Go fast.

It should be like seven, seven and a half kilometers an hour.

So, it should be a brisk walk.

The robot can now switch between three speed settings and thus better keep up with its leader.

A month has passed since they conducted tests in Hirosaki.

Hi!

They pay Akaishi another visit.

They came to explain the details of the robot rental service slated to start in six months.

Akaishi is very hopeful for the project.

It should be useful
from April through August.

First of all, we need to use it
to get a better idea.

We'll find more uses for it.

We need to try it first.

We can collaborate
to adapt it to our needs.

Akaishi makes up his mind: he's going to be Tamir's very first client.

I'll try it to improve cost effectiveness.
We're short on available workers.

I hope it'll be ready and easier to use.

The more we and other farmers use it,
the more the robot can be improved.

It's a win-win for all.

I'm very excited that we were able to get, like, sign a deal with the farmers...

...and kind of, push as hard as we can to get the technology, kind of, to meet their expectations

to solve some of the problems or make their life a little bit easier,

and hopefully a bit more profitable as well.

With a six-month deadline, tackling the path forward is crucial for Tamir's team and their robot.

Hi! I am Chris Peters.

I am a street performer.

Sangenjaya, Tokyo

A major street performance event
is held here every year.

Chris performs with his partner Ke-Bo.

I make money from this!

We read the energy, and then we play it, and we play it and we play, and we get everybody in a nice mood.

But it's very difficult to get this, because we need to be, like, telepathic with each other.

Their pantomime 'Mr. Zombie' act
is quite the crowd pleaser.

When I first started performing, I wanted to do something so nobody can see me,

because I didn't have enough courage.

And this was perfect, because it hides me.

Chris grew up in a children’s home
in Manchester.

At 19, he was living on the streets
when he discovered street performing.

After meeting Ke-Bo in 1998,
he decided to settle down in Japan.

They formed Funny Bones in 2002 and
have been touring festivals worldwide.

All my problems from my history, all my childhood -

everything went away on the first day that I made some money on the street.

Everything disappeared.

I realized, 'Now my life can change, and it's up to me now.'

The street is there everywhere.

This is Ke-Bo, he is my partner in Funny Bones.

I'm Ke-Bo!

When I first set eyes on Ke-Bo, like, 'Yeah! Me, you, drink! OK!'

And then I want to do a show.

He says, 'Ah, together! We do show!'

And no Japanese, and no English.

But we tried!

But we saw, I think, beginning was kind of telepathic.

I saw his show and wondered,
'What goes on in his head?'

I felt it'd be fun to perform together.

I needed to be more confident.

'Cause I started with 'Zombie,' I was covered.

So, Ke-Bo, I knew, would take me out the puppet.

And I knew it was coming, and I didn't want to 'cause I was so scared.

He's shy!

But I knew Ke-Bo would say, 'No! We do!'

And that's why I stood at his side, because I knew that he would push me.

He needed to open up
and unleash his full potential.

He can do things I can't,
and I can do things he can't.

We sort of complete one another.

He's helped me so much as an entertainer.
I owe him a lot.

You saved my life about entertainment life because I met you.

I know.

No, I don't.

Really? I saved your life?

Of course!

Thank you!
We're Funny Bones!

You've been great!

They’ve been earning a living
solely from performing for twenty years.

There's a famous English performer called Tommy Cooper, and he collapsed on stage,

and the last thing he heard was everybody clapping, laughing.

That's what I want! I want to be right to the very end.

I have no desire to do anything else; this is my life.

And this is what I will do.

My treasure is Mr. Zombie.

And it was part of me.

It was my shyness, my struggle, my creativity...

It really was. We were bonded.

I'm 51 years old now; I'm still doing it.

It really helped me get away from the life I had in England.

Because in England I had... I had no parents, no... no nothing...

...all the way when I was young all the way to I... It's a really sad story.

But this helped me get away from there, and travel the world, and then see.

So, then I went to Thailand, Singapore, China, Taiwan.

I went to all... America, I didn't care.

I knew I could survive with my 'Mr. Confidence.'