Massey University (New Zealand) showcases automated kiwifruit picker
The kiwifruit picker project was born after business development manager Garth Atkinson heard a report on the kiwifruit industry’s perennial crisis: not enough pickers. He and Dr Flemmer, an industrial automation specialist, worked out a way to automate picking, something that had not previously been possible mechanically because the fruit were too easily damaged.
The kiwifruit picking robot is a development of Dr Rory Flemmer and a team led by PhD scholar Alistair Scarfe
The key to their design is an artificial vision system that enables the robot to select and pick 14,000 kiwifruit an hour. It is scheduled to begin working in orchards this year. Massey marketing director Sarah Vining says the kiwifruit picker has the potential to revolutionise the entire horticulture industry.
For more details check out www.massey.ac.nz
Posted: June 6th, 2008 under Announcements.