[NE Coffee Chat] Overcoming Smart Farm Limits... Securing Profitability with Robots 'Rowein'

Replacing Conventional Farms with Profitability Issues
Reducing Operating Costs with Minimal Robot Deployment

The shocks of climate change affect every aspect of our daily lives. Agriculture is especially impacted. Droughts, heavy rains, and abnormal weather have drastically reduced crop yields, bringing a crisis to global food security. Countries are focusing on smart farm technologies equipped with systems that precisely control growing environments such as temperature, humidity, and sunlight to solve food issues. However, high costs are holding back progress. Maintenance costs, as well as the labor costs required to manage these systems, are significant. Rowein has proposed a method to secure profitability by introducing robotic automation technology to address this problem.

On the 24th, Lee Kyungha, CEO of Rowein, said, "There have been growth limitations because it is difficult for smart farms to secure profitability," adding, "If profitability is improved through automated robot technology, the market will expand rapidly."

Lee Kyungha, CEO of Rowein, is being interviewed by Asia Economy on the 24th at a location in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Lee Sungmin

With a background as a robot developer, CEO Lee recognized the need for robot utilization in agriculture. He saw potential particularly in vertical farms, which can maximize space utilization. However, in his view, the existing automation methods in vertical farms had issues. He explained, "The existing automation approaches in vertical farms fall into two categories: one where robots directly replace tasks previously done by humans, and another where robots are installed on every production line. The former is practically unfeasible because robots cannot match human productivity, and the latter incurs excessively high installation and maintenance costs."

Accordingly, Rowein focused on building an automation system with a minimal number of robots. While traditional vertical farms move growing beds one by one, Rowein’s system improves efficiency by using robots that transport entire growing beds at once.

To complete the optimal automation system he envisioned, CEO Lee decided to develop all devices himself, including the nutrient solution system and the Internet of Things (IoT) system that controls them. He stated, "There were no robots on the market suitable for implementing this transport system. Unless we build all systems and machines ourselves, the organic integration of all processes?from arranging to transporting the growing beds?would be compromised."

Rowein plans to secure a 100-pyeong (approximately 330 square meters) site domestically this year to conduct large-scale demonstrations. The plan is to verify whether the system operates properly and to thoroughly assess profitability issues. CEO Lee said, "For smart farms to be profitable, the facility investment must be recoverable within five years," adding, "We believe this is fully achievable with our approach."

After successfully completing demonstrations this year, Rowein plans to begin full-scale profit generation. Following commercialization, the robotic vertical farm system will be offered to customers entering distribution networks. Client companies are expected to install robotic vertical farms near logistics centers, thereby shortening crop distribution times, reducing costs, and enhancing market competitiveness.

The ultimate goal is to enter the global market. Currently, operations focus on leafy vegetables, but there are plans to diversify crop types in the future. CEO Lee said, "At CES, which we participated in for the first time this year, the most frequent question from overseas investors was whether we could cultivate hemp," adding, "The Rowein system can also cultivate tall hemp plants. We will actively promote this capability."