Autopickr, an agricultural robotics firm, has developed a new robot designed to perform hand-picking, canopy management and harvesting tasks in wine vineyards.

The robot, aptly called ‘Vinny,’ is designed to help vineyard managers with labor shortages without sacrificing quality and attention to detail, its developers explained.

Source: AutopickrSource: Autopickr

Based on a modified version of Autopickr’s automated asparagus harvester, Vinny will be capable of traveling up and down slopes, operating at fruit zone height, distinguishing between unripe and ripe grapes using an artificial vision system, and picking whole bunches once they are ripe.

Unlike the currently available machine harvesters that tend to agitate the vines to extract grapes, Vinny is capable of picking intact bunches much like humans who pick whole bunches by hand, which wine producers tend to prefer.

Autopickr has received £475,000 in government funding to create Vinny for the U.K. wine sector.

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