An autonomous prototype harvester designed to pick tomatoes inside
greenhouses – and with less damage to the produce than with human harvesting.
Vehicles across the entire industrial sector are becoming increasingly automated. In agriculture, autonomous technologies will be seen not only in fields and on farms,
but in greenhouses as well.
MetoMotion, a startup greenhouse robotics organization based in Israel, has developed a multipurpose robotic system called GRoW (Greenhouse Robotic Worker) that can carry out labor-intensive tasks inside greenhouses.
The company’s first application-specific robot is an autonomous harvester for greenhouse-grown tomatoes. Designed by Amos Boaz in collaboration with MetoMotion, the machine was specifically created for integration into existing greenhouse practices.
The harvester is made up of an autonomous guided vehicle (AGV), multiple robotic arms, an advanced vision system and a proprietary harvesting component tailored to the fruit or vegetable that it is harvesting.
The robotic harvester is expected to minimize damage to produce during picking, as well as increase efficiency. Currently 30-50% of total costs in greenhouse farming are labor-related, but with one human operator required to monitor up to five robotic harvesters, MetoMotion estimates that greenhouse farmers could save up to 50% in harvest-related costs.
For more information about MetoMotion’s GRoW system, visit MetoMotion.com
