text: Through the investment Kubota intends to contribute to labor-saving and efficiency improvement in farming. Also, Kubota will launch a rice planting machine with automated driving functions in October.
  Kubota Corporation has invested in U.S. based start-up Abundant Robotics. This company offers robotics-based automation in the agriculture field.
  Last June, Kubota launched its Innovation Center as a division for the pursuit of open innovation based on coordination with external partners. The company states it’s currently pursuing negotiations for collaboration with startups, beginning with Advanced Farm Technologies, Inc., in which Kubota invested last August.
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  One area of farming that has caught Kubota’s attention is harvesting. Automated harvesting is in high demand among fruit growers, according to the company. This interest led to the decision to invest in Abundant Robotics, which is developing apple-harvesting robots by using advanced technologies.
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  With this investment, Kubota says it aims to reinforce its development of labor-saving and automation technology for harvesting apples and other fruits and launch a solution business utilising these technologies, thus contributing to labor-saving and efficiency improvement in farming in the U.S. and elsewhere.
  Kubota to launch rice planting robot
  Kubota Corp. will release a rice planting machine with automated driving functions in October, reports Nippon.com. The automated rice planting machine will use mapping and GPS technology and will be remotely controlled. With the machine, Kubota says only one person is needed to plant rice, instead of two.