Posted on 06/01/2022 9:00:25 PM PDT by Cronos
Two robots developed by Fieldwork Robotics, a spinout company from the University of Plymouth, have been harvesting the berries round the clock in polytunnels in a field near Odemira in south-west Portugal.
... The robots, which cost £2m to develop, stand 1.8 metres (5ft 11in) tall and each is fitted with four 3D-printed plastic arms that simultaneously pick raspberries – among the hardest fruit to pick, as they are softer than other berries and grow on tall bushes at varying heights.
When the first iteration of the robot went on trial in the UK three years ago, it had one harvesting arm that gingerly approached the fruit and took a full minute to pick and deposit a berry into a punnet. Since then its sensor technology and grippers have been completely redesigned to reduce slippage and harvesting time.
“We are making real progress in the development of our harvesting robots,” said Rui Andres, Fieldwork’s chief executive. “Raspberries are very sensitive so we have had to develop technology that can apply enough pressure to release the fruit from the stem without damaging it. At the same time, our sensors are now so advanced that they can tell if the fruit is ready to be harvested or not, meaning what can be sold is all that is picked.”
...The firm is aiming to have a robot picking 25,000 raspberries a day, compared with 15,000 for a human working an eight-hour shift.
(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...
They also don’t pick their ass, then handle the fruit you eat!
I have seen them do it in the strawberry fields every day when I drove to and from work!
Fieldwork Robotics
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I like this name.
Made in Mexico?
>> The food line image.... scary.
The scary part is the dependents wired to passively wait on line instead of forcing production.
A nut-picking robot could present a real hazard with a software glitch.
That was probably the original title.
The Editor convinced Steinbeck the Grape sounded more noble, less like a taunt.
“You’ll pick nothing and have everything.” Blackrock
—”Years ago I was working at a vineyard and talked to the guy about his laborers.”
A friend owns a vineyard and winery...
Grape picking machines are popular but, the rows need to be further apart and a turning area at the end of the rows. About half the grapes per acre and the cost of the machine.
He retired and the kids didn’t want it.
Forsale, such a deal!
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