SweTree
Automation for the Forestry of the Future
SweTree is a Swedish biotechnology company focused on developing sustainable plants for forestry. In a comprehensive collaboration with Prevas, the company is developing an automated process for selecting and propagating the most viable trees already at the embryo stage.
Innovation That Helps Forests Grow Better
“Our goal is to plant trees that deliver higher growth and better quality,” says Magnus Hertzberg, CTO at SweTree. “For society, this means creating healthy, productive forests that can provide biomass while also contributing valuable ecological benefits.”
The method SweTree works with is called somatic embryogenesis, where new plants are created from plant cells in a laboratory environment. Traditionally, forest seedlings are produced from selected trees in seed orchards. It is a well-established method that works on a large scale, but with limited opportunities to fully benefit from breeding improvements.
“With somatic embryogenesis, we can select the strongest trees already at the embryo stage and reproduce them,” says Magnus Hertzberg. “This can result in trees that grow up to 30 percent better and are also more resistant to disease, insects, and drought.”
The technology also makes it possible to maintain genetic diversity, as several different genetic lines can be cultivated in parallel and planted in mixed combinations to create more resilient forests.
Identification, Picking, and Planting – in Under Three Seconds
SweTree’s automation of somatic embryogenesis consists of several stages, with the collaboration with Prevas focused on one of the most critical: using a robot to pick embryos and place them into a cultivation medium. For this task, Prevas has developed an advanced vision system where AI-based image analysis and robotics work together with extremely high precision.
The process begins with a camera inspecting a large number of embryos. They are extremely small, typically between 1 and 5 millimeters long depending on the species.
“Using AI-based image analysis, we identify a suitable embryo and calculate a number of parameters, including position and angle,” says Johan Sandberg, Vision Engineer at Prevas. “This enables the robot to pick up the embryo correctly, both to avoid damaging it and to ensure accurate placement later in the process.”
The embryo is then planted in a cultivation unit within a tray containing a total of 160 units. The openings in the cultivation units are also identified using AI, and the entire process is completed in under three seconds.
“The solution handles extremely small objects with significant variation in size, shape, and position,” says Johan Sandberg. “It requires precision below 0.5 millimeters, which means we are truly utilizing the robot’s full potential.”
Caption:
Hundreds of clones – yet every plant is unique. Using Prevas’ proprietary AI platform, the embryos with the best potential for continued growth in the forest are selected.
Precision is crucial in the cultivation trays. Somatic embryos must be placed correctly to ensure proper root development.
A Process That Requires Automation
The technology for creating somatic embryos has existed for a long time, but until now it has only been possible to perform the process manually and on a small scale. To make a real impact on forestry, entirely different volumes are required. In Sweden alone, around 400 million conifer seedlings are produced every year. To truly influence the forestry industry, production must reach tens of millions of plants, which means handling hundreds of thousands of embryos every day.
SweTree is fundamentally a technology development company whose business idea is to develop technologies and then commercialize them within the forestry industry through licenses and technology packages. In this collaboration, Prevas contributes not only with support in the development process, but also as a strategic business partner.
“It is not efficient for us to build cutting-edge expertise in AI and robotics internally, so we collaborate with specialists,” says Magnus Hertzberg. “Together with Prevas, we can offer a complete robot- and AI-based system to customers around the world.”
To achieve the required volumes, the process must be automated.
Magnus Hertzberg, CTO at SweTree
Delivering a Complex End-to-End System
To make the project possible, Prevas has contributed expertise across several disciplines, including machine vision, AI, robotics, PLC systems, and UX.
“It is an extremely complex project where we truly leverage our capabilities as a full-service provider,” says Milad Abdhagh, Account Manager at Prevas. “The collaboration with SweTree is a great example of what we can achieve in the more advanced part of the spectrum, even though we also work with simpler solutions.”
The project has progressed from development to a fully functional pilot and is now entering the next phase of scaling and industrialization. A significant part of the funding comes from major Swedish forestry companies, which see strong potential in using the technology to plant trees that grow faster, are healthier, and have greater resistance to external factors.
“The next major step is to decide on building the first factory in Sweden,” says Magnus Hertzberg. “In that case, it would serve both as a production facility, where we move from pilot to industrial scale, and as an important reference environment for the technology.”