…of agricultural machinery.
ACTIA and SHERPA Engineering announce a strategic partnership aimed at integrating SHERPA’s autonomous navigation technology into ACTIA’s high-performance HPC controller. This collaboration seeks to develop a unique market solution: a robust, industrial-grade HPC capable of running in real time the advanced algorithms for perception, 3D localization, planning, and control required for the automation of agricultural machines and robots.
A partnership driving next-generation agricultural robotics
The agricultural sector is undergoing a major transformation: robotization has become a necessity. Farms increasingly operate in unstructured and hard-to-access environments — rugged terrain, terraced crops, forest areas, complex topographies, or even unmapped zones. In such conditions, farmers must simultaneously manage vehicle driving, agricultural tools, safety, and decision-making — a significant cognitive load.
At the same time, numerous studies show that robotics combined with artificial intelligence is a powerful lever to accelerate the agroecological transition. The targeted and precise use of robots can significantly reduce the use of phytosanitary products while minimizing environmental impact. Robots can also take over repetitive, labor-intensive, or time-consuming tasks, allowing farmers to focus on higher value-added activities.
At both national and international levels, momentum around agricultural robotics continues to grow: research programs, innovation funding, testing platforms, and technology competitions all reflect the urgency and strategic importance of integrating robotics technologies into agriculture.
The market’s demand is clear: robust, autonomous, or semi-autonomous agricultural machines capable of operating in real-world conditions. The partnership between SHERPA Engineering and ACTIA provides a concrete and industrializable response to this need.
By combining:
- ACTIA HPC, a high-performance embedded controller designed for harsh environments,
- and the SHERPA software module, which integrates real-time perception, 3D localization, planning, and control functions.
The two partners offer a complete solution to accelerate the integration of autonomous robotics into agricultural machines.
The collaboration between SHERPA and ACTIA provides a comprehensive industrial solution to meet the agricultural sector’s robotization needs.
The partnership aims to deploy SHERPA’s autonomous navigation software module — which integrates multi-sensor perception, 3D localization, planning, and control functions — currently running on Nvidia controllers, onto ACTIA’s high-performance HPC, making it an industrializable solution.
As part of this integration, the ACTIA HPC will host essential machine safety functions, including secure geofencing (defining a virtual work zone) and obstacle/person detection and avoidance.
Machine manufacturers and agricultural robot producers will thus have a ready-to-use solution combining autonomous navigation and operational safety on a single controller.
Key use cases for farmers include:
- Autonomous row guidance (vineyards, orchards, vegetable crops)
- Trajectory following for repetitive tasks (mechanical weeding, targeted spraying, pasture mowing)
- Partial autonomous vehicle control: the operator can focus on the agricultural implement or operation quality while the vehicle handles movement
- Navigation in complex terrain (uneven ground, terraced crops, etc.) for safe, robust, and controlled operation.
Thanks to the ACTIA platform and the SHERPA module, manufacturers have access to:
- Advanced software (SHERPA),
- Robust, industrializable hardware (ACTIA HPC),
- A testing and validation center (through the AgroTechnoPôle and SHERPA’s testing facilities).
Cross Perspectives: ACTIA x SHERPA
“With the ACTIA HPC, we provide the agricultural market with a robust, secure, and industrializable hardware platform capable of running high-performance algorithms in real-world conditions. By collaborating with SHERPA Engineering, we take a key step forward: offering agricultural machinery manufacturers a complete solution — from controller to software — to integrate autonomous functionalities into their vehicles. Our ambition is to give manufacturers the tools to design smarter, more efficient, and more sustainable agricultural machines.”
Davide LOY, Vice-President Off-Highway Market, ACTIA
“This partnership with ACTIA addresses a major need for agricultural robotics manufacturers and integrators: providing a ready-to-integrate solution for autonomous navigation that combines high-performance embedded computing with intelligent software. With our modular technology module, the machine can perceive its environment, localize in 3D, and make real-time decisions.By leveraging the ACTIA HPC, we offer manufacturers a fast track to automation. Our goal is simple: to put robotics at the service of farmers and the performance of their machines.”
Dieumet DENIS, Head of Advanced Autonomous Systems & Co-Director of the i-SMART Partnership Laboratory (SHERPA Engineering / INRAE)
SHERPA, a recognized specialist and pioneer in agricultural and off-road robotics
In a market where agricultural robotization is becoming strategic, SHERPA stands out for its rare expertise: transforming advanced navigation algorithms into fully operational autonomous solutions in the field.
Originating from the demanding automotive and aerospace sectors, SHERPA Engineering leverages over 25 years of experience in multiphysics modeling, advanced simulation, embedded AI, and complex system validation. This historical mastery of embedded systems has naturally positioned SHERPA as a leading player in agricultural robotics and autonomous off-road mobility.
The company does more than develop algorithms: it designs, integrates, and tests autonomous navigation solutions in real-world conditions, directly on-site with machine manufacturers and agricultural robot producers.
Today, SHERPA holds a key position in the agricultural innovation ecosystem:
- Reference company and robotic testing operator at the AgroTechnoPôle (INRAE), a national platform dedicated to the agriculture of the future.
- Co-founder with INRAE-TSCF of the i-SMART Partnership Laboratory (LPA), focused on agricultural robotics and off-road mobility.
- Winner of the MOBILEX Challenge, funded by AID, CNES, and AIT, as part of the MOBITER consortium (INRAE + Institut Pascal), demonstrating top-tier performance in autonomous navigation in unstructured environments.
The SHERPA technology module is fully modular, allowing industrial partners to progressively integrate it:
- Multi-sensor perception (AI, Lidar, radar, camera)
- 3D multi-sensor localization & SLAM (Lidar/GNSS / IMU / odometry)
- Trajectory planning & control
Thanks to this unique combination of advanced algorithms, integration capability, and real-world testing platforms, SHERPA is now one of Europe’s leaders in autonomous navigation in off-road environments, serving agricultural machine manufacturers and robot producers.
About SHERPA Engineering
Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Nanterre, with offices in Clermont-Ferrand, Nantes, Villaroche, and subsidiaries in Morocco, Tunisia, Romania, and India, SHERPA Engineering specializes in system engineering, development of control and guidance systems, multiphysics modeling, and artificial intelligence. SHERPA provides innovative technological solutions tailored to various industrial sectors such as automotive, aerospace, agriculture, defense, space, energy, and process industries.
