Engineering firms look to market robotic apple pickers by 2019

02.03.2017 81 views
Worry over agricultural labor shortages may be troubling many under the new administration but two engineering firms are hoping to ease worries and are aiming to market robotic fruit-picking machines by 2019.
The two competing companies – Abundant Robotics Inc. in California and Israel-based FFRobotics – have plans to manufacture and market commercial robotic harvesters sometime in the next 18 to 24 months, representatives told a global audience of fruit growers here Thursday.
The two reps gave presentations to hundreds of orchardists, packers and shippers from 13 countries gathered last week in Wenatchee for the 60th Annual Conference of the International Fruit Tree Association.
The presentations on Thursday focused mostly on apple harvesting, but both reps said the machines could be adapted to pick other fruit – oranges, peaches and maybe even cherries.
Advantages of automation include no pickers’ bags, no ladders, no hauling to distant bins, less bruising and – depending on operator schedules – the possibility of 24-hour harvesting. Manufacturers are aiming for a 2-year return on investment, with the cost of machine harvesting equal to or less than human crews.
“The ultimate goal is for our machines to be as good as humans when it comes to harvesting,” said Dan Steere, co-founder and CEO of Abundant Robotics. “We seem to be on track.”
Source - spokesman.com
25.04.2024

Ukraine - Frosts damaged part of harvest of early apples and stone fruits

As a result of the latest frosts in Ukraine, the peak of which occurred on April 19-20 of this year, orchards of apples, pears and stone fruits were partially damaged, EastFruit analysts report.

25.04.2024

Italy - Strong demand for strawberries but yields dropped by up to 50% compared to a year ago

Favorable prices and low yields are marking this recent part of the strawberry season in Southern Italy. "Here in the Basilicata region, in about 40 days, the campaign will be over for many, referring to traditional cultivars like the Sabrosa-Candonga," says Maria Ferrara of the wholesale fruit and vegetable company Fe.Vi Frutta.

25.04.2024

South Africa - Water scarcity threatens the agricultural sector and food security

South Africa is naturally a water-scarce country – among the 30 driest countries in the world. But, combined with unpredictable climate changes that tend towards hotter and drier conditions, diminishing water tables, and the chronic mismanagement of water systems, water availability is becoming a cause for concern across all sectors of the economy.

25.04.2024

India - Farmers claim crop damage on 7,800 acres in Indri, Nilokheri

In the wake of recent rain and hailstorm that lashed the region on Friday, nearly 1,500 farmers in the Indri and Nilokheri blocks of the district have registered claims on the e-Kshatipurti portal, stating extensive losses to their wheat crop on approximately 7,800 acres of land.

25.04.2024

Hunger in Southern Africa: addressing climate change effect

As a result of climate disasters, millions of people in Southern Africa face the threat of starvation. The onset of El Niño caused scorching heat waves that destroyed crops and dried up essential water sources in the region.

25.04.2024

Safeguarding crop diversity in genebanks

Ensuring food security and agricultural resilience in the face of environmental challenges depends on preserving and utilizing crop diversity, according to the Crop Trust. Genebanks serve as the ultimate guardians of this diversity. However, they are susceptible to various risks that could jeopardize their invaluable collections.

25.04.2024

USA - Northwest Ohio farms prepare to protect crops from the cold temperatures

With the expected cold weather this week, farmers are starting to monitor their crops. It isn't strawberry season yet, but farmers are starting to prepare the plants now. The freezing temperatures could impact the crops.

25.04.2024

Singapore - Researchers pioneer nanosensor multiplexing for real-time decoding of different plant stresses

Researchers from the Disruptive & Sustainable Technologies for Agricultural Precision (DiSTAP) Interdisciplinary Research Group (IRG) of Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), MIT’s research enterprise in Singapore, in collaboration with Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory (TLL) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), have developed a cutting-edge nanosensor that allows for the real-time monitoring of salicylic a cid (SA) during the early stages of stress response.

istanbul escort şişli escort tbilisi escort şişli escort şişli escort maslak escort istanbul escort beşiktaş escort taksim escort izmir escort ümraniye escort mecidiyeköy escort şişli escort taksim escort ümraniye escort kartal escort şirinevler escort maltepe escort istanbul escort ümraniye escort kadıköy escort vip escort mersin escort istanbul escorts ataköy escort avcılar escort beylikdüzü escort okmeydanı escort şişli escort tuzla escort işitme cihazı sex shop sex shop sex shop sex shop sex shop sex shop sex shop sex shop