Strawberry picking robots trialled by University of Essex

The university has partnered with jam maker Wilkin & Sons to test the new prototype with help from a £1.02m grant from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affair’s (Defra’s) Farming innovation Programme.

Based on a prototype which has been successfully trialled for the last two seasons, this new robot can pick a strawberry in 2.5 seconds.

The prototype is able to pick the strawberries using a robotic arm, before weighing each one and placing it in packaging. Researchers hoped the project would not only reduce the repetitive, labour-intensive process of crop picking, but also extend the shelf-life of produce by speeding up the packaging process.

Adaptable technology

Modular architecture means it can be easily adapted for other crops, with plans to trial the robot on onions, tomatoes and lettuce.

Dr Vishwanathan Mohan, on of the lead designers and builders of the robot, said: “Through this project we want to transform how food is grown efficiently using robotics and AI, and make state-of-the-art agri-robotics technologies accessible to everyone.​

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“Even if smaller farms and businesses can afford a robot, you need a whole fleet of them to make a difference, so it is vital we find cost-effective alternatives to help the agricultural industry. At the same time robotics is a game changer to tackle some of the critical challenges facing us – food security, labour security, climate and energy.”​

Existing crop-picking robots can cost on average around £150,000 but if successful, the new prototype will cost a fraction of the price at around £10,000.

Tackling a significant challenge

Chris Newenham, joint managing director of Wilkin & Sons, added: “Wilkin & Sons are once again delighted to partner with the University of Essex in tackling what is currently the most significant challenge for our industry.   ​

“Our experience from our initial work with the institution is that these challenges are inordinately complex and take time, it is work which is definitely not for the faint hearted but we are confident that we are working with the very best partners and very much looking forward to seeing the fruits of our collective labours over the coming years.”​

Meanwhile, in this exclusive cutting and slicing round-up​​, we look at how different food manufacturers in different segments – cheese, fudge, sandwiches and cake – handle their cutting operations following the introduction of machinery.