{"id":398866,"date":"2025-11-06T10:06:28","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T13:06:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/?p=398866"},"modified":"2025-11-06T11:24:39","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T14:24:39","slug":"a-robot-in-the-forest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/a-robot-in-the-forest\/","title":{"rendered":"A robot in the forest"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Bel\u00e9m \u2013 What was meant to be just an a\u00e7a\u00ed production project in the land of a\u00e7a\u00ed, Par\u00e1, turned into much more. As the team behind A\u00e7a\u00ed Kaa began setting up the business, they encountered several bottlenecks in the supply chain and set out to solve each of them. In the process, they ended up developing not only an a\u00e7a\u00ed production company but also a technology provider for the sector\u2014now aiming to revolutionize how a\u00e7a\u00ed is produced and monetized in Brazil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The research launched by A\u00e7a\u00ed Kaa\u2019s entrepreneurs about six years ago led to major results, including the creation of a robot for mechanized a\u00e7a\u00ed harvesting, a new production process that preserves the fruit\u2019s original flavor, harvesting baskets made from recycled materials, and a bio-road for transporting a\u00e7a\u00ed through the forest.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Employee
Employee demonstrates how the A\u00e7a\u00ed Bot works<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cThis work will not benefit only our company\u2014we\u2019re fully aware that it\u2019ll impact the entire a\u00e7a\u00ed production chain,\u201d said Reinaldo Pinto dos Santos, entrepreneur and founder of A\u00e7a\u00ed Kaa, speaking to a group of journalists in October.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The robot is called A\u00e7a\u00ed Bot, and like other creations under the umbrella of Kaa Tech, it has been attracting market attention. It all began by noticing how a\u00e7a\u00ed is traditionally harvested. In the conventional method, one must climb the a\u00e7a\u00ed palm\u2014a tall, slender tree\u2014to cut the bunches at the top. \u201cThe strenuous nature of the work is simply unacceptable,\u201d says Santos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The A\u00e7a\u00ed Bot robot performs this task by climbing the tree and harvesting the bunches. The equipment weighs around eight kilograms, making it easy for riverside families to handle\u2014many of which consist only of grandparents and mothers as the adults. Santos explains that with the current method, a person harvests between 80 and 100 kilograms of a\u00e7a\u00ed per day, but with the robot, they can harvest up to a metric ton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given this harvest volume, the company faced the challenge of transportation\u2014how to get the a\u00e7a\u00ed out of the forest\u2014and developed the biopath, a system similar to Lego blocks that can be assembled in the a\u00e7a\u00ed palm area. \u201cIt can be carried and set up in the forest, and most importantly, it\u2019s transparent to nature. Animals can move freely across it, as the biopath doesn\u2019t get in the way at all. It has support points and doesn\u2019t bring down a single tree,\u201d says mechanical engineer Andr\u00e9 Colson Schwob, who works as a technical consultant for the company. \u201cIt\u2019ll allow access to a large portion of a\u00e7a\u00ed that has remained beyond our reach until now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the umbrella of Kaa Tech, a company established to drive technological innovations in the a\u00e7a\u00ed production chain, are also the production of recycled-material boxes for transporting a\u00e7a\u00ed and a biofactory with a monthly capacity of 18,000 improved a\u00e7a\u00ed seedlings. The biofactory uses advanced in vitro cultivation and micropropagation technology, focusing on producing plants of high genetic quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Original flavor<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At A\u00e7a\u00ed Kaa, even the main product\u2014the a\u00e7a\u00ed itself\u2014has a story rooted in research. Troubled by the stark difference between the fresh a\u00e7a\u00ed consumed in Par\u00e1 and the version eaten elsewhere in Brazil and abroad after being frozen for transport, the company set out in search of the ideal product. \u201cThe H\u2082O molecule changes position when frozen. As it shifts, it damages the anthocyanins and harms the flavor\u2014and that damage is irreversible,\u201d explains Santos.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Reinaldo
Reinaldo Pinto dos Santos is the founder and visionary behind A\u00e7a\u00ed Kaa and Kaa Tech<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The idea was to produce a\u00e7a\u00ed that could be sold online anywhere in the world with the same flavor as the one sold in Par\u00e1. After evaluating existing technologies, A\u00e7a\u00ed Kaa began searching for new options. \u201cWe found a way to process a\u00e7a\u00ed that preserves its qualities 100%,\u201d says Santos, referring to the process in which the a\u00e7a\u00ed returns from powder form to pulp. \u201cWith this technology in hand\u2014scalable and economically viable\u2014you can process large quantities of the fruit,\u201d Santos explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The technological solutions developed from the creation of A\u00e7a\u00ed Kaa will be used by the company itself but are also available on the market. \u201cThe idea is to benefit the entire value chain,\u201d explains A\u00e7a\u00ed Kaa\u2019s executive director, Marcelo Feliciano. In October, the robot was being sold for BRL 19,569.20 [USD 3,653.84] on the Kaa Tech website, with delivery scheduled within 60 days. The biopath is also already available for purchase, according to Feliciano.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reinaldo Pinto dos Santos says that this process, in addition to involving a highly qualified team, included several partnerships\u2014with researchers, universities, Brazilian and international companies, the Par\u00e1 State Department of Agricultural and Fisheries Development (Sedap), Par\u00e1 state agriculture federation FAEPA, and Brazil’s agribusiness lobby, CNA. The state of Par\u00e1 is located in the Amazon rainforest region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read the other features in the series:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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New directions in COP30 host Par\u00e1\u2019s agriculture<\/a><\/blockquote>