In August 2022, PAL Robotics described initial CANOPIES integration and field testing at Cooperativa Agricola Corsira in Aprilia, Italy. An adapted TIAGo++ dual-arm upper body was placed on the Alitrack mobile base supplied by Sapienza University of Rome.
Changes included torque sensing in arm joints, additional torso motion and agronomic end-effectors intended for vineyard tasks. Field work collected navigation and perception data under outdoor conditions, where shadows, sunlight and occluded grapes complicate manipulation. The project aimed to combine farming and logistics robots with human workers for table-grape operations. At this stage, harvesting automation and further perception integration remained development objectives. The announcement therefore describes a collaborative research prototype, not a proven replacement for an entire commercial harvesting crew.
