Automated harvesting and picking of agricultural products remains elusive to some food growers. Engineers tried to develop an agricultural robot to help strawberry growers in the past, but the process required growers to move plants indoors and, in turn, created undue expenses and burdens on farmers.
Farmer and CEO Gary Wishnatzki of Wish Farms partnered with mechanical engineer Bob Pitzer to found Harvest Croo Robotics in 2013. Along with seven other investors, the company raised $1 million among Florida and California strawberry growers. The company's goal was to create an automated harvesting machine capable of picking strawberries without forcing farmers to change the way they grow the product.
The first agricultural robot entered strawberry fields in early 2015. The automating harvesting process involves the robot's ability to differentiate between ripe fruit and immature strawberries that need to stay on the plant. The mechanized parts must firmly grasp the fruit and pull it off without damaging the skin of the strawberry or ripping stems and leaves.
Growers and engineers set a goal of picking one fruit per second, or harvesting three to five strawberries on an entire plant in five seconds. The prototype from Harvest Croo Robotics tested close to that speed. The key to taking this automated harvesting machine to market remains whether or not the robot picks strawberries faster than a human. If the robot cannot go faster, the process does not become economically viable.
This robot uses vision sensors and software already available to consumers and companies. The machine recognizes ripe fruit versus immature varieties with these vision sensors. Engineers must solve problems of longevity and workload for the machines. These automated harvesting robots must work longer hours, and need less maintenance, than their human counterparts.
The growing and picking industry has reached a crossroads, as the labor pool, primarily consisting of illegal immigrants, shrunk over the past 10 years. This makes investing in automated harvesting machines even more worthwhile for growers, who also appreciate the fact that robots can work longer hours than humans and do not call in sick.
The next-generation robot from Harvest Croo Robotics tests during the next growing season. This machine can pick strawberries and package them at the same time. Combining these processes saves even more time and gets strawberries to stores even faster. Engineers expect a commercially available harvesting robot remains years away, but designers are confident the harvesters will become a reality in the future thanks to prototypes built now.
The robotics industry aims to boost several sectors in 2015. Investment in companies such as GE Ventures, Goldman Sachs, Rethink Robotics and Bezos Expeditions grew from 2013 to 2015. Collaborative robots that work alongside humans have become more mainstream as engineers learn to create machines that can move, perform human-like tasks and switch from one production line to another.
The agricultural industry represents the next logical step for robots. Automated harvesting saves money on labor, one of the biggest costs for growers during the picking season. These machines have the potential to save growers money year after year and put fresher fruit on the tables of consumers.
Photo courtesy of Boians Cho Joo Young at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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