Korechi Inovation Inc. enter the golf market with a first of it’s kind ball picker robot.

In end of 2019 Korechi asked me for some input in a potential ball picking robot, and today, we get to see the result of Canada based company. The Pik’R.

As the name suggest it, the Pik’R is a ball picking dedicated robot, but with one little twist. It uses your existing ball collector. This makes it very cost effective and easy to integrate in your facility.

The Pik’R in few points:

Fully electric with up to 10 hours running time in a single charge.
Can push your existing 3 gang (2400 balls per round or 4acres/hrs) and 5 gang (4000balls per round or 7acres/hrs) ball collector.
– 3 gang (2400 balls per round or 4acres/hrs)
– 5 gang (4000balls per round or 7acres/hrs)
GNSS-RTK guidance with sub inch accuracy. No inground wire required.
Can be controlled via physical joystick or via app on an included tablet.
Very low weight to reduce ground compaction and ball plugged in the ground.
Live monitoring of robot navigations and parameters status for one or a full fleet of robot over the internet.

The specs are the following:

Dimensions : 83″ x 55″ x 36″ (2,1m x 1,4m x 0,9m) (LxWxH)
Weight: 860Lbs (390kgs)
Maximum speed: 4,3mph (7km/h)
Battery: Lithium with 10years+ of life.
Guidance: GNSS RTK with sub inch accuracy.
Collision avoidance: Camera with AI + physical and remote e-stop.
Optional accessories: Additional batteries, LED floodlights, Structural mounts for additional sensors, customizable colours…

Unlike other competitor that offer fully automated operation from collection to dispensing golf ball, the Pik’R will only collect your ball and wait for a staff member to empty the baskets and charge the robot. This make the Pik’R an affordable solution for smaller golf course / driving range that does not want to invest 6 digits or for bigger operation that need a much more efficient collection rate per hour.

I particularly like the design for its discreet, low profile but is also very premium. Not only it feels premium, but it’s also actually very robust! With 3mm thick metal cover, the sensitive electronic parts of the robot are not at risk of a being hit by a golf ball… in fact, the robot will even answer back at rogue golf ball ; )

But more than just a protective cover, the top part of the robot can be unlocked with a set of keys, then slide up to access the tablet, tools and every internal components of the robot. It is safe and effortless.

The robot will be available for the USA and Canada market in spring 2023, with Korechi already accepting orders.

I am personally thrilled to see the market of robot for golf breaking through from just one or two companies and mainly focussing on fairway maintenance.