The R&D project developed by FCC MEDIO AMBIENTE, S.A.U. under the title "DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF ADVANCED URBAN PRUNING SYSTEM", with file number IDI-20190100, has been co-financed by the Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (by Spanish acronym, CDTI), an organisation that depends on the Ministry of Science and Innovation and the European Regional Development Fund (by Spanish acronym, FEDER) through the Multiregional Operational Programme for Intelligent Growth.

FCC MEDIO AMBIENTE, S.A.U. (FCC MA) is the company within FCC Group that provides environmental services, covering a wide range of services: collection, treatment, recycling, energy recovery and disposal of municipal solid waste; street cleansing; maintenance of sewerage networks; treatment and disposal of industrial waste; recovery of contaminated soil; and ground maintenance.

One of the essential activities for optimum conservation of urban green grounds is pruning. Trees in urban environments are subject to stress situations that lead to the need for special treatment that differs from that practised in other more favourable growing conditions. Pruning work in streets and urban environments has been carried out for years in the same way, manually and rudimentary, and is characterized by great danger, both by falls of operators and mishaps with tools.

FCC MA, as part of its business strategy, has developed this R&D project with the technical objective of designing and developing an advanced urban tree pruning system with vision cameras that allow the operator to see different points of view of the branches to be cut and to optimise the cutting operation.

The project has lasted 18 months and had the collaboration of the University Institute of Automation and Industrial Computing (ai2 Institute) of the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV) located in the Polytechnic City of Innovation.