UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas researchers have developed the AGROTIS Navigation System, an automated solution for rice land preparation.

This innovation won the grand prize in the Professional Category at the 5th Socially Relevant Technologies Innovation Contest in Taguig City.

The team is composed of Assoc. Prof. Anthony James Bautista, Asst. Prof. Mary Grace Ann C. Bautista, and research specialists John Raven Red and Ella Casabuena.

AGROTIS addresses a critical labor shortage in agriculture, with the Philippines losing 1.5% of farmworkers annually as the average age of farmers rises to 55-60 years.

“Addressing this pressing issue, AGROTIS transforms conventional hand tractors into fully autonomous machines. The system uses a GPS module for precision navigation and a compass module to determine the robot’s orientation,” UST said.

“With this technology, farmers can control multiple hand tractors simultaneously, increasing efficiency and reducing manual labor. Safety is also prioritized with an emergency shutoff feature installed in the system,” it added.

Funded by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development, the AGROTIS system was developed in collaboration with the Philippine Rice Research Institute, the International Rice Research Institute, and UST’s own technology business incubator, the TOMASInno Center.

The system has a modular design which could be adapted for harvesters and transplanters, and safety features which ensure user control. It also has an 80% field efficiency and can prepare one hectare in just 20 hours.

The UST researchers plan to launch AGROTIS through rental models and partnerships with tractor manufacturers, aiming to modernize agriculture in the Philippines and expand into ASEAN markets.