Agridynamics Robotics Apple Picker
From the Western Ag Network, I’m Bob Larson with today’s Fruit Grower Report. The latest robotic apple picker could soon be available and, based on in-orchard testing, appears to be effective beyond just picking.
Miguel Gomez, Global Marketing Advisor at Agridynamics Robotics, says this technology has been developed at Michigan State University for over 5 years …
GOMEZ … “We’re using a suction cup, almost like a vacuum where it’s just kind of sucking in the fruit. It kind of twists it, pulls it, and then suck it in. But at the same time, we have a sorter and so it’s sorting them by size, shape and color, which is kind of stream-lining the process and helping the grower, you know, before they get into the actual warehouse.”
And while separating the apples via size, shape and color …
GOMEZ … We have two bins on the back of it. It’s also being able to say, hey, these are the good apples, the ones that could be processed and sold to the resource stores. These are the bad ones. These are the ones you can turn into juice, you know. So, kind of like I mentioned, it streamlines the process for the growers.”
Testing of these robotic pickers, Gomez says has gone very well …
GOMEZ … “The first time we ran a pilot, it was only two arms. And every two to three seconds, it was able to pull them off the tree. In total, it did over 4,000 apples within an hour, which was like two to three bins. Now, with all eight arms that we have on the robotic harvester, we’re able to do eight bins within an hour.”
Their robotic harvester, Gomez says should be available soon …
GOMEZ … “I would say, within six month we’ll definitely be out there with robotics as a service. I think within a year, we’ll actually be selling the ones to the growers if they’re interested in buying them.”
To learn more, go to www.agridynamics-robotics.com
