Farmers around Europe require seasonal workers to harvest their crops. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the situation in Ukraine, there is a manpower shortage on the continent. Some farmers had no choice but to observe food waste.
In countries where there is a shortage of labor, farm robots have been employed to harvest apples, lettuce, and other crops, but it has proven more challenging to get machines to select delicate fruits like raspberries without harming them.
Although growers are using these technologies more frequently for operational efficiency, it is still unclear how they will affect the final customer who buys vegetables at their local farmer's market or grocery store.
Growers may ensure that their fields are fully harvested by using agricultural robots to support human work as a result of the rising use of robots in farming. Customers will thus always have access to healthful fruits and vegetables thanks to the usage of agricultural robots.
Furthermore, the use of pesticides and other chemicals in agriculture to treat crop diseases and pests may be reduced as a result of robotic farming. Such poisons may be applied more accurately so that they are sprayed only where there is an active pest infestation rather than all over the growing area thanks to robotic delivery methods and cutting-edge monitoring systems. This condition is supported by many consumers who seek for goods that have undergone the least amount of processing.
Harvesting robots, which have four picking arms with grippers, can pick fruits by themselves without causing damage thanks to a combination of sensors and algorithms. Robots used for harvesting are efficient despite their slowness. A skilled human picker may gather about 10 pounds of raspberries in an hour, but they often only harvest about 2.2 pounds.
The technology is currently being speeded up by scientists with the ultimate goal of having it pick 66% more raspberries per day than a person working an 8-hour shift (25,000 berries vs. 15,000).
Additionally, it is evaluating the technology's ability to harvest various types of crops and looking for ways to reduce the manufacturing costs for its harvesting robots, which it currently rents to farmers for about the same amount they would pay seasonal workers.
By the end of 2022, five robots are scheduled to be commercially deployed, with 40 more following in 2023.