The development of the world's first robot for collecting raspberries is gaining momentum. pounds.

The final version of the robot has 4 flexible multi-armed captures that can act simultaneously, controlled by cameras and sensors.

Raspberries are placed in trays for sorting by maturity, then in baskets before being sent to supermarkets. The camera system will also collect data to get feedback on the condition of the bushes, providing improved quality and yield of berries.

The project, worth 672 thousand pounds, is supported by a Innovate UK grant of 547 thousand pounds and Frontier IP, a university intellectual property commercialization specialist who owns a 27.5% stake in the company.

Raspberries turned out to be in the center of attention of developers, since its automatic collection is the most difficult due to the fragility and characteristics of the growth of berries. Various lighting conditions, branches, and pests were the biggest challenges in developing the robot.

“After success with raspberries, our robots can be adapted to other soft fruits and vegetables,” explains Rui Andres, Fieldwork interim CEO.

Of greatest concern are the global and British problems of labor shortages in horticulture and agriculture, which even led to rotting of unharvested produce.

As is usually the case with automation and the introduction of artificial intelligence, the appearance of a robot may well mean the loss of low-skilled jobs in agriculture, although other specialists will be required for skilled technical work.