PHOTO: FIELDWORK ROBOTICS
PHOTO: AGROBOT
PHOTO: ABUNDANT ROBOTICS
ROBOT HARVESTERS ▶▶▶
Almost ready to pick: many harvesters in concept stage
BY PETER HILL O
utwardly, all appears calm as the unfamiliar driverless vehicle inches its way across a field in California. However, under the covers there’s
a lot going on as multiple manipulators scan, detect, analyse, reach out and gently grasp a ripe strawberry before snipping it from the plant. Welcome to the mesmerising world of robotic harvesting as engineers and techni- cians get ever closer to perfecting artificial intelligence, image analysis, mechanical manipulation and safe vehicle navigation. There are well-advanced projects around the world aiming to mechanically pick field and orchard- grown apples, asparagus, broccoli, citrus fruits, cauliflower, kiwi fruit, raspberries and tomatoes. And there are several more designed to handle crops such as cucumbers and peppers grown under glass or plastic. Meanwhile, numerous institutions are conducting early stage work on lettuce, mangos, water melon and other crops. Arguably, it’s the outdoor crops that present the greatest challenge; and, while some ro- bots will be available for commercial use in 2021 (see catalogue), others are hot on their heels.
Apples The US-based Abundant Robotics vacuum ap- ple-picking harvester is close to commercial availability following a season working in T&G Global orchards in New Zealand this year. High-density planting and specific pruning methods prepared the Hawkes Bay orchards for the robotic machine, which uses image analysis to locate and identify ripe fruit before it is sucked off the tree and sent along a tube to a conveyor for collection in a box. Dan Steere, CEO of Abundant Robotics, said: “Developing an automated apple harvester re- quires solving a number of complex technical problems simultaneously, from visually identi- fying harvestable fruit and physically
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Increasing costs and the difficulties involved in recruiting and managing a seasonal labour force are the principal drivers behind the development of robotic harvesting systems.
Fieldwork Robotics is working with vegeta- ble grower Bonduelle Group to develop a ro- botic cauliflower harvester.
manipulating it without bruising, to safely navigating the orchard itself.”
Asparagus Dutch tech firm AvL Motion says it has success- fully completed the first field trials with its self-driving selective white asparagus
harvester. The tracked vehicle’s detection sys- tem locates asparagus spears that have emerged from the bed and engages one of several continuously circulating cutting, lifting and carrying devices. These transport the har- vested spears to the back of the machine. “The harvesting capacity is 15 asparagus plants per linear metre, with almost no soil removed,” ex- plains AvL Motion founder Arno van Lankveld. “This means that the bed doesn’t need to be repaired after each pass and a 500 kg capacity collecting module can be installed to reduce the unloading frequency.” Cerescon, also Dutch, is now ready to sell its Sparter: next year six of them will start their working life in the Netherlands and Germany (see page 42). The goal is to sell 150 machines in five years.
Broccoli Automated selection and cutting of broccoli heads is the goal of KMS Projects, a UK-based engineering firm that has demonstrated a trac- tor-mounted solution. The RoboVeg prototype uses image analysis to identify broccoli plants, measure the size of each head and compare it against adjustable criteria. It then activates an industrial-type six-axis robotic arm to cut the
The electric drive Agrobot E-Series from Spanish com- pany Agrobot is a multi-row picker designed to harvest strawberries grown in both table-top systems and beds. Several competitors are working on strawberry pickers.
▶ FUTURE FARMING | 20 November 2020
Curious about the Field Robots Catalogue? Visit:
http://misset.com/field-robots/
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