The coconut tree is often referred to as the “Tree of Life” because of the many resources the plant provides. Every part of the tree is usable for food, cosmetics, fuel, building materials, and even medicinal purposes. The trees grow abundantly in warm tropical and coastal regions. Countries like Indonesia, Thailand, and India greatly rely on coconut farms to support both domestic and foreign economies. Harvesting around 14.68 million metric tonnes of coconuts a year, India is the third largest coconut producer in the world. However, harvesting coconuts can be a daunting process.

A mature coconut tree has a slender trunk that can grow up to 100ft tall and produce anywhere from 30-75 fruits a year. The harvesting of the fruits is done mostly by small scale farmers. Getting a vehicle with a tall enough ladder or cherry picker basket to reach the coconuts is not really possible. The trees grow in environments that make it difficult to access by such equipment. The most common way coconuts are picked is by sending a farmer, called a pandeli, up the tree to chop them down. Usually barefoot to give them a better grip, a pandeli climbs up the tree using a machete to chop out notches along the tree trunk. The notches serve as handholds and steps as the pandeli precariously climbs up the tree with no safety gear. Some pandelis use a rope loop to inch up the tree, still not much safer.

In India, like much of the rest of the world’s coconut producers, finding people willing to climb a 70-100ft coconut tree is becoming increasingly difficult. Still, India needs coconuts to feed and economically support the country. Machines have been built that can climb up the tree and cut down coconuts. But for most coconut farmers, these are unreliable. Besides the machines being too bulky and expensive, they cannot accurately select the valuable fruits from the peak of the tree. However, as agriculturists around the world have learned, technology is the key to the future of sustainable farming.

The ICAR-Central Coastal Agricultural Research Institute (CCARI) was established by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) to promote excellence in agriculture through technological research initiatives. Recently, a team of researchers and engineers from ICAR-CCARI and Goa University took on a mission to find a better way of harvesting coconuts. The answer, a sustainable, cost effective drone they call Cocobot to take the place of the already dwindling pandelis.

The team is in the process of obtaining a patent on the Cocobot. The drone has been designed to be easy to use, a key feature considering that the majority of people who would be using it have little to no education. The drone is operated through a tablet and flown up the tree. The operator can select precise fruits to be harvested by observing through the drone’s camera. Once the operator has selected which fruits to pick, another option on the tablet is selected to chop down the coconut. The drone has retractable arms that will lock onto the tree’s trunk. Next, another arm can be remotely controlled to cut down the coconut. As the drone is latched onto the tree, it will not be knocked down by the falling coconut.

The Cocobot is operated from a safe distance and can harvest the fruits of 12-15 trees in a single hour. This tremendously increases operational efficiency while protecting pandelis. In 2020, the ICAR launched a contest called the Kritagya Agtech Hackathon to encourage the development of agricultural machines in India. Designed by principal horticulturist Adavi Rao Desai and his students Abhiraj Pednekar, and Arman Shaikh, the Cocobot won first place in the contest this past May. Competing against 748 teams, the ICAR-CCARI and Goa team were awarded ₹5 lakh. What sets them apart from other competitors is the fact that the Cocobot is a drone that is easy to use, unique, inexpensive, and can be modified for use in many agricultural fields. With drones like the Cocobot, the “Tree of Life” can be harvested without risking any lives.

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