A new crop-picking robot prototype developed by researchers from Essex University is being trialed by jam makers Wilkin & Sons in the hopes that it will help tackle a labor shortage in the industry.

The robot has been tasked with picking strawberries from one of Wilkins and Sons’ vertical farms in Tiptree where it picks a strawberry in roughly 2.5 seconds. The team explained that the prototype picks strawberries using its robotic arm, and it then weighs each strawberry before it places the fruit in its packaging.

Source: Essex UniversitySource: Essex University

According to its developers, the modular architecture of the crop-picking robot can be adapted to other crops. The team expects to conduct additional robotic harvesting trials with onions, tomatoes and lettuce.

The expectation is that the crop-picking robots will help to reduce the repetitive, labor-intensive process of crop picking, and also extend the shelf-life of produce by hastening the packaging process.

For more on the crop-picking robot, watch the accompanying video that appears courtesy of Essex University.

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