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...
