Japan: New Robot Picks Ripe Strawberries While Farmers Sleep

October 2nd, 2013

Via: AFP:

A robot that picks ripe strawberries while farmers sleep has been unveiled with claims it could cut workloads by two-thirds.

The device, unveiled Wednesday, can pick a piece of fruit every eight seconds by using three cameras to determine which strawberries are ready to pick. A mechanized arm then darts out to snip each one free and place it into its basket.

The 2-meter robot moves on rails between rows of strawberries, which in Japan are usually grown in elevated greenhouse planters.

Research Credit: alvinroasting

2 Responses to “Japan: New Robot Picks Ripe Strawberries While Farmers Sleep”

  1. erth2karin says:

    “Cut workloads by two thirds”??
    Shouldn’t that be “cut agricultural employment by two thirds”?

    I hope they’re only planning on using the robots for their indoor strawberry farms in Dubai…
    (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-24205029)

  2. alvinroast says:

    @erth2karin: I’m afraid Dubai is only the beginning. This is not only the direction agriculture is head, but the direction most all jobs are headed.

    Harvest:
    “The engineers were testing the Lettuce Bot, a machine that can “thin” a field of lettuce in the time it takes about 20 workers to do the job by hand.”
    http://www.naturalnews.com/041319_agricultural_robots_job_market_farming.html

    Nurseries:
    http://singularityhub.com/2013/09/02/harvest-automation-brings-affordable-robotics-to-big-ag/

    Driver-less tractors:
    http://www.farmandranchguide.com/news/agri-tech/efficient-harvest-combine-speaks-to-driverless-tractor-pulling-grain-cart/article_2f091ce0-0b22-11e2-b622-001a4bcf887a.html

    Cow milking:
    http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-10-05/the-210-000-cow-milking-robot

    Greek meat processing (not for the squeamish):
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=AoO1Yzq7cuk
    Think (sports)writers are exempt:
    http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/04/can-an-algorithm-write-a-better-news-story-than-a-human-reporter/

    Wiki editing:
    http://dmlcentral.net/blog/john-jones/when-robots-write

    Novelists?:
    http://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2011/10/are-robots-writing-books-or-this-blog.html

    Manufacturing:
    http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2011/12/29/Robots-to-Take-500000-Human-Jobs-for-Now#page1

    http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/19/business/new-wave-of-adept-robots-is-changing-global-industry.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

    One of my favorite quotes on the subject from this article:
    “At what point does the chain saw replace Paul Bunyan?” asked Mike Dennison, an executive at Flextronics, a manufacturer of consumer electronics products that is based in Silicon Valley and is increasingly automating assembly work. “There’s always a price point, and we’re very close to that point.”

    Foxconn (Robots don’t commit suicide):
    http://www.zdnet.com/cn/foxconn-recruitment-suspended-due-to-installation-of-robots-7000011650/

    Food prep:
    http://singularityhub.com/2013/04/19/chinese-restaurant-owner-says-robot-noodle-maker-doing-a-good-job/

    Desk jobs:
    http://www.businessinsider.com/computers-are-replacing-the-middle-class-2012-1

    Anesthesiologists:
    http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303983904579093252573814132.html

    And everything else:
    http://open.salon.com/blog/frank_michels/2011/11/04/robots_are_coming_to_take_your_job

    http://www.technologyreview.com/news/509296/small-factories-give-baxter-the-robot-a-cautious-once-over/

    Dolphins losing jobs:
    http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/nov/30/navy-dolphins-losing-out-to-robots/

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