Innovation Works’ Robotics Factory Convenes Growers, Researchers, and Equipment Makers on Safety for Autonomous Farm Machinery

PITTSBURGH - Nov. 12, 2026 - Farm operators, researchers, equipment makers, and safety specialists gathered in Pittsburgh this week to work out how autonomous and AI-driven farm equipment can reach more fields without putting farmworkers at risk. Innovation Works' Robotics Factory hosted the Safety for Emerging Robotics and Autonomous Agriculture (SAFER AG) Workshop Nov. 9-11 in partnership with The Center for Digital Agriculture (CDA) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and with support from Carnegie Mellon University and Penn State University.

Automation is already common on American farms. Guidance autosteering systems were used on 70% of large crop-producing farms and 52% of midsize farms in 2023, up from single digits in the early 2000s, according to the USDA Economic Research Service.

"Autonomous tractors are already working real acres, but the safety standards and training around them are still catching up," said Kevin Dowling, Ph.D., Managing Director of Robotics Factory and Hardware at Innovation Works. "The people who build these machines rarely sit at the same table as the growers who run them and the researchers who study farm injuries. This week they did, and the goal was for every table to leave with a pilot it could take home and test."

The three-day workshop opened Monday at CMU's Jared L. Cohon University Center with keynotes and track sessions on grower readiness, workforce training, safety during live deployments, and AI data governance. Participants split into working groups that each developed a pitch for a solution or pilot program, on topics including safety cases for machine perception and training for equipment operators.

SAFER AG was the latest summit in a series that pairs industry challenges with robotics founders and technologists. Past summits have focused on defense, construction, and aviation. SAFER AG speakers included Jose Perez, Senior Director of Corporate Environmental Health and Safety at The Wonderful Company, and Kent McElhattan, Chairman and CEO of The McElhattan Foundation. Salah Issa of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign chaired the workshop's steering committee, and planning committee members came from organizations including the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, and AGCO.

The workshop wrapped up at the Robotics Factory, where attendees could earn continuing education credit in a training on AI and robotics in agricultural safety or tour the National Robotics Engineering Center, Carnegie Robotics, and CMU's Field Robotics Center.

Learn more about the Robotics Factory's Create program.

About Innovation Works

Innovation Works is one of the most active early-stage investors in the country and the most active in Pennsylvania. Since its inception of the seed fund in 1999, Innovation Works has invested in over 800 companies that have gone on to raise $3.74 billion in follow-on funding Portfolio companies have generated and retained over 20,000 jobs in Pennsylvania. Innovation Works is part of the Ben Franklin Technology Partners network, which has catalyzed economic growth over the last 30 years by providing access to capital and networks that help foster innovation and technology-based economic development in Pennsylvania. Learn more at innovationworks.org.

Contact

Gretchen Weaver
Innovation Works
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Lexie Capperella
Gregory on behalf of Innovation Works
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