Latest robot can pick strawberry fields forever

Japan Times ^ | 09/30/2013

[SeekAndFind]

A robot that picks ripe strawberries while farmers sleep has been unveiled with claims it could cut workloads by two-thirds.

The device, unveiled Wednesday, can pick a piece of fruit every eight seconds by using three cameras to determine which strawberries are ready to pick. A mechanized arm then darts out to snip each one free and place it into its basket.

The 2-meter robot moves on rails between rows of strawberries, which in Japan are usually grown in elevated greenhouse planters.

It “calculates the degree of ripeness from the color of the strawberry, which it observes with two digital cameras,” said Mitsutaka Kurita, an official at Shibuya Seiki, the developer of the machine.

“It also uses the images from the two cameras to calculate the distance from the target, then approaches the strawberry it is aiming at,” he said.

A third camera takes a detailed photo of the fruit, which it uses for the final calculation before moving in to snip it.

[JoeProBono]

[taildragger]

And no fecal matter on the strawberries to give people e-coli infections. That’s a big improvement over laborers who don’t wash their hands.

Ding Ding, we have a winner, not to mention their other health habits in the fields that have caused many to get ill...

Robotization of the food industry could be a paradigm changer. Often overlooked is the Shaking and Collecting device for Cherries, which is more mechanical but takes something like these robots to the next level...

[freedumb2003]

Making illegal aliens undocumented workers irrelevant?

Robot rights -- the next refuge for the Race Pimps:

[Just mythoughts]

RE: I want one.... Last year I picked 30+ gallons of strawberries..... That will be Five million yen ( or $50,000 ) please.

I guess I could instead hire cheap labors to do my picking instead. almost sarcasm, probably have to provide them a trip to their 'church' to confess their sins and pay off the local religious man.

[Drawsing]

I didn’t click the link, but that photo looks like a carefully set up elevated growing platform. Does this thing work outside under actual strawberry field conditions?

[CarmichaelPatriot]

If a robot can pick strawberries, one can be built to pick tomatoes, lettuce, asparagus and just about any other crop.

They’ll be able to work 24 hours a day, meaning an entire crop can be brought to market in 1/2 to 1/3 the amount of time required for human labor, plus they won’t call in sick or go to the bathroom in the fields causing the crops to be contaminated with E Coli or other pathogens.

I forsee similar robots able to plant crops, pick weeds, apply fertilizers, insecticides and water very selectively to minimize the amount of chemicals and water required and creating a much more consistent crop.

Commercial farmers will be fools not to invest in this technology.

[rbg81]

Except it looks like its doing it in a lab. Probably a lot more work is required for a mobile robot to do it outside in a real field. Still, it is probably just a matter of time....

[vbmoneyspender]

They've had tomato harvesters for awhile See Link

I believe strawberries were the last major crop not to have mechanical pickers.

[SeekAndFind]

RE: Catchy.

Someone should write a song.

---

Did anybody call?

[1rudeboy]

Leading to my next point: a few workers not washing their hands while picking produce will not result in a bacterial infection spreading over several States, despite what the alarmists claim.

[freedumb2003]

Tomatoes PEOPLE are next!!!!!

[Dr. Sivana]

Until our FR protectionists roll in, and claim that we need the jobs.

Nah. FR protectionists don't mind technology,they just want to use it here. They especially don't want to give away the intellectual property behind the technology to Red China.

[Just mythoughts]

If a robot can pick strawberries, one can be built to pick tomatoes, lettuce, asparagus and just about any other crop. They’ll be able to work 24 hours a day, meaning an entire crop can be brought to market in 1/2 to 1/3 the amount of time required for human labor, plus they won’t call in sick or go to the bathroom in the fields causing the crops to be contaminated with E Coli or other pathogens. I forsee similar robots able to plant crops, pick weeds, apply fertilizers, insecticides and water very selectively to minimize the amount of chemicals and water required and creating a much more consistent crop. Commercial farmers will be fools not to invest in this technology.

Hey IF I had the money, I would buy me a couple that could not only pick the produce but process it as well. BUT meanwhile I am left to do the best I can do. My left thumb and right shoulder hate me after this spring/summer/autumn's workout.

[mad_as_he$$]

Err tomatoes have been mechanically harvested for 30+ years.

http://tomatoharvester.com/

[SeekAndFind]

RE: I didn’t click the link, but that photo looks like a carefully set up elevated growing platform. Does this thing work outside under actual strawberry field conditions?

This product has only been demonstrated by the Japanese company — Shibuya Seiki at last week’s annual Auto-ID and Communication Expo at the Tokyo Big Sight convention center.

It’s not even on sale yet.

According to the article:

The robot will go on sale early next year for about ¥5 million.

Strawberries are available all year round in Japan and typically fetch ¥500 for a small basket.

[vbmoneyspender]

The machine that revolutionized a harvest - The UC-Blackwelder tomato harvester, developed at the University of California, Davis, in 1949, helped to usher in mechanization that proved vital in the growth of California's tomato-growing business. Partly because of this piece of equipment, California now produces 95 percent of the processing tomatoes grown in the United States.

[The_Media_never_lie]

Nothing to get hung about......
It doesn’t matter much to me (baby boomer)

[1rudeboy]

You missed the most important part: they want to tax you.

[Zuben Elgenubi]

Thank you, I was aware of the equipment.

[dainbramaged]

Picking strawberries is back-breaking work.
It sure is - from the ages of 11-14 or so, my brother and I picked strawberries every early summer. A Japanese/American family farm in the Green River valley had a small fleet of old buses and would transport mostly kids to the field very early in the morning. Bring your own lunch. We were paid 50 cents per flat, which I believe is 12 pints. Mid 1960's.