Technology advancement and readiness assessment

Before using this service, customers often don’t know how advanced their AI-based product or prototype truly is, or what needs to be improved to move toward market readiness. After the assessment, they receive a clear picture of the current technological maturity of each component along with practical recommendations and a development roadmap. This helps them focus their efforts, avoid costly mistakes, and plan the next steps, including which tests or improvements are required. The service also helps identify other agrifoodTEF services that can support more advanced validation, if needed. As a result, companies gain confidence in how to move forward efficiently and increase their chances of successful deployment or funding.

The service is delivered in a flexible way depending on the type of solution. In the case of a hardware product, the assessment typically involves a hybrid model: physical testing of hardware components (e.g., gripper and robot arm) combined with remote analysis of software, system logic, and sensor integration. Multiple expert teams may assess the robot’s individual subsystems in parallel. We begin with building or sourcing a basic test environment to evaluate repeatable performance. This setup allows us to test individual modules (e.g., in the case of apple-picking robot gripper endurance, fruit removal dynamics) as well as system-level behaviours (e.g., picking trajectory, stability of the base during operation). The process may include, i.e.,- Physical tests of the gripper: how many picking attempts the plant can withstand, risk of damaging the plant, and effectiveness of removal. - Kinematic tests: robot arm movement toward and away from fruit, based on coordinates (e.g., stem and basket location), including hand-inputted berry positions. - Vision assessment: Is the system capable of identifying ripe fruit and avoiding unripe ones? - Evaluation of integration: how the robot behaves as a whole, especially in terms of reach, balance, and stability during the harvesting process. Customers must provide a functional prototype and access to the source code (if applicable), along with technical documentation. Based on these inputs, we deliver a detailed report outlining the current state, strengths and weaknesses, and clear next steps—including matching the needs to relevant agrifoodTEF services for further development.

The service is adaptable to the customer’s solution type and development stage. Depending on the focus area, the assessment may concentrate on the physical device, software, system architecture, or the accompanying documentation and conformity. The scope and methodology are defined based on the available inputs and the technological maturity of the product. To carry out the assessment, the customer must provide access to a working prototype (in the case of hardware), full technical documentation, and, where applicable, access to the source code. The evaluation may include simplified tests of selected components or system behaviour, especially when integration or subsystem functionality is in question. The service outcome—including the report format, level of detail, and scope of recommendations—can be customised based on the client’s expectations and needs. Follow-up consultations or workshops can also be arranged to support the implementation of proposed next steps or further development via other agrifoodTEF services.