A new generation of strawberry picking robots are being tried on Essex farms as part of a £1 million initiative aimed at addressing labor shortages in UK agriculture.
The project, led by the University of Essex and funded by DEFRA, is currently testing a second-generation robot picker at Wilkin and Sons vertical strawberry farm in Tiptree.
This initiative illustrates significant advances in the development of automated solutions for horticultural labor challenges.
Modern robot designs are significantly smaller and cost-effective than their predecessors, while maintaining a high level of performance.
Equipped with artificial intelligence and machine learning, the robot can identify ripe strawberries, pick them accurately and package them in seconds.
The third prototype is also scheduled for a field trial later this summer.
Dr. Vishwanathan Mohan, principal investigator for the university and project, said:
The robot is equipped with artificial intelligence and machine learning
“This season, we will begin trials of second and third generation robots for the first time. At the same time, we will be deploying the robots to capture other crop types and labor-intensive tasks to demonstrate its versatility.”
The second generation model is being developed at a cost of around £20,000. This is one-fifth of the cost of the first prototype tried last year.
This reduction was achieved through the reuse of the core “vision action decision” software developed early in the project.
Going forward, the team aims to produce five strawberry picking robots by 2027, making each iteration more compact and economically viable.
Dr. Mohan added: “The ambition is to make the outdoor rovers in Agritech applications cost the same as a laptop. We want to make cutting-edge agricultural robotic ticks accessible to everyone around the world.”
The project also led to the establishment of the versatile Robotx, the Agritech spin-out company co-founded by Dr. Mohan.
The startup will focus on commercializing university research and accelerating the adoption of autonomous technologies in agriculture.
