Fruit picking robots: has their time come?
ISSN: 0143-991x
Article publication date: 3 February 2020
Issue publication date: 23 March 2020
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe recent fruit picking robot developments with an emphasis on corporate activity rather than academic research. It also aims to provide a view on the commercial prospects for these developments.
Design/methodology/approach
Following a short introduction, this first discusses strawberry and other soft fruit picking robot developments conducted principally by commercial organisations. It then provides similar details of robots for harvesting apples and other hard fruits. This is followed by a discussion and concluding comments.
Findings
The shortage of seasonal fruit pickers has stimulated the need for automation. Accordingly, a growing community of companies, many founded in the past five years, are developing fruit picking robots. These are aimed at both soft and hard fruits, such as strawberries and apples, respectively, and exploit advanced vision systems, image processing techniques and AI. Some products are already on the market, whereas many more are due for commercial release during the next two years into what is expected to be a highly competitive market.
Originality/value
This provides details of the emerging fruit picking robot business by describing the products and manufacturing companies.
Keywords
Citation
Bogue, R. (2020), "Fruit picking robots: has their time come?", Industrial Robot, Vol. 47 No. 2, pp. 141-145. https://doi.org/10.1108/IR-11-2019-0243
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited