3/14/2013

Automation,Mechanisation and
RoboticsinHorticulture
ErrolW.Hewett
InstituteofFood,NutritionandHumanHealth
MasseyUniversity
Albany,Auckland
NewZealand

Email:ewmrhewett@xtra.co.nz
PresentationtoWorkshopEmergingPostharvestTechnologies,UniversityofDavis,CA.1415March2013.

Decreasingproportionincomespent
Arefruitandvegetablestoocheap!
onfood19302010
Lesspoliticalinfluence
foragriculture.
Fewerstudentshence
reductionand
amalgamationof
departments
Lessfundsforeducation
andhorticultural
research

Labouramajorcostforhorticulture Reasonsforautomation
Nearly50%of Laborproblemsamajordriverforincreasedautomation
andmechanization.
productioncostsfor Reducecroplossesbyharvestingatpropertime.
fruitareforhiredlabour Skillandavailabilitywhenitisneeded
Intensivehorticultural Costoflabor isitreallytoohigh?Minimumwageis$7.25
cropsrequiremuch 9.00/hour?USAhaslowestminimumfederalwagein
OECDcountries.NZis$13.75/hr.
moreskilledlabour Skilllevelandexperienceoflaboroftennotavailable.
thanbroadscale Machineswithsensorsareobjectiveandproduct
agriculture throughputcanbeconsistentlymonitored
Uniformqualityofoutput
Competitioninproductionfromlowcostlaborcountries

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Harvestingislaborintensive Manytypesofrobots
Availability cropmustbe
harvestedatoptimum
maturity
Skilledharvesthands
understandfragilityof
product
Humansharvestfasterthan
machinesformanycrops
Potentialtoreducelabor
costswithmachines
Willproposedchangesin
immigrationlawaffectlabor
market?

Communicationrobots;nohandssonouseinhorticulture

Personalhealthaides RobotsinHorticulture
Nurseriesandgreenhouses
Parksandgolfcourses
Inthefield;monitoring
Mechanicalaids
Mechanizationandmachines
Postharvest
*Picking/harvesting
*Gradingandsorting
*Packing
*Accumulation

Robotmachinesinthefield Microbots forpathogencontrol?

MasseyFergusonRobotharvester;canbe
designedforweedingandspraying
Microbots fordisease
control
Systemicdistributionof
selectivenatural
biocidesthrough
vascularsystem
Targetingviruses,fungi
orbacteria
Nanotechnologyhasto
bedevelopedforplants
Robotrac byValtra.Remotecontrolled

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Automaticvegetablegraftingmachines Nurseryrobotmachines

Transplanter byDemeter.332fingers;
Cucurbitautomaticgraftingmachine. Tomatoautomaticgraftingmachine1000 Automaticpotfiller,Demeter 1000plants/finger/hr
800plants/hr at95%successrate plants/hr at>95%rate

Greenhouserobotsprayers
Workersafetyandprecisionapplication
Cropmonitoring
Octocopter
Carriessensorsand
camerasforaerial
surveillance
Croploads,stress
conditions including
water,nutrient,harvest
maturity,pestand
diseaseload
Robotsprayerforgreenhouses.Holland
Greenmachine
RoboticsprayerforgreenhouseArgentine

Lettuceharvestingandfieldpacking Lettuceharvester
Mainlyforlargegrowers
>1,000acres
Canprovidereturnon
investmentin1year
Reducedlaborcostsby
50%
Manyprocesses
automatedincreasing
operatorefficiency

http://www.growingproduce.com/article/23895/visionsystemsoptimizeperformance

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Machinesforharvestingfruitand
Tomatoharvesters vegetables

CTMselfpropelledtomatoharvester Johnstonselfpropelledtomatoharvester
Peaviner Appleandcherryharvester

Instrumentedgloveforfruitquality Harvestingaids
Developedasharvestingaid Pneumaticbranch
byFrenchscientists
Equippedwithnon shaker
destructiveminiature Usedforcherriesand
sensorsandartificial
intelligence apples
Measurescolor,sugars, Fruitfallsonto
firmness,
Programmedtospecific collectingsurface
attributesandenables Physicaldamagean
pickertomakeobjective
decisions. issue fruithits
Notcommercialised branches,otherfruitor
surfaceofcatching
frame

Developentiresystemforsweet
Strawberryroboticharvesting
cherryproduction
Fruitveryperishable Thenextgenerationsweetcherryorchardmustbe
precocious,consistentlyproductive,bearexcellent
Physicaldamageandslow qualityfruit,andbedesignedtobelaborefficient.
speedareproblemswith Precociousproductivesystem fruitin3years
mechanicalharvesting SystematicapproachtopruningandtrainingUFO
Damageleadstoethylene Facilitatesprecisioncanopyandcropmanagement
production,toinfection Compactfruitingwallsthatfacilitateincorporationof
sitesforfungiandrapid newtechnologyforimprovinglaborefficiencyandfruit
deterioration quality
Selectivitychallengeto Asystemthatminimizesenvironmentalfootprint
findallberriesonplant Spacebetweentreesfilledatplanting
Costanongoingissue Partnerfullywithindustryinsystemdevelopment
Developmarketfornostemcherries
Notcommercialyet

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Cherryharvester Changethetreestructure
Programmetodevelop Uselong(1m)rodsat
holisticsystemforsweet planting
cherriesMatthew
WhitingbyWSU,Prosser. Bend4590o fromvertical
Rootstocks,varieties,tree Allowvigorouslateral
training,fruitquality, growth
pickingaids,mechanical Canbetrainedtoone
harvesting dimensionorVshaped
DevelopingUpright Yieldincreases
FruitingOffset(UFO)
trainingsystem Harvestefficiency
improvement

The Future growing system?

Stemless cherries
Consequenceof
mechanicalharvesting
Sensoryqualityattributes
sameascherrieswith
stems
Majormarketingeffort
requiredtoovercome
consumerperception
Increasingnumberof
growersusingtheUFO
system
Illustration of 3-year-old sweet cherry trees trained to the UFO system creating
an angled, single-plane fruiting wall that is ideally suited for mechanized
harvest. Dr. Matthew Whiting, WSU Prosser

Automaticsortingofmultiplequality
Amodernpackhouse
attributes
Hightechsensorswith
veryfastresponsetimes
Fast,accuratesegregation
basedonpresetquality
parameters.
Measures14fruitper
secondperlane
10,080,000individual
fruitper20hourdayfor
10lanes.
Nolaborproblems

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Robotsinthepackhouse Automatedfruitsorting
Roboticpalletstacker Roboticbinstacker
Mechanisationwill
progressforfruit
harvestingandhandling
Sensorswillbecomemore
sophisticatedandfaster.
Robotswillbecomemore
sophisticatedand
accurateforrepetitive
tasks
Robotswillbecome
increasinglyselflearning
adaptingtochanging
conditions

Couldweusetheseguysinorchardor
SupplyChainmonitoring
Supplychainmonitoringand
packinghouse?
traceability
XSENSE systembyStepac Purfresh Transport
[NowBT9intelligentsupply Ozonetechnologyforin
chainsolutions] transitpreservation
Recordstemperatureand Constantstorageremote
relativehumidity environmentmonitoring
automaticallyatshort andmanagement
intervalsforprecise
monitoring.

Robotdoingdishes

Conclusions
Pressurewillcontinueforproducerstoreducecostsof
production,harvestingandpackingfruitand
vegetables.
Supermarketswillcontinuetomanipulateprices
receivedfortheirbenefitandnottheproducers.Are
growersforcedtosellproducetoocheap?
Labourcostswillcontinuetoincreaseanddrivefurther
mechanisation,automationandrobotics.Is$7.25or
even$9.00/houralivingwagetoday?
Costsoftechnologyreducing;moresophisticated,
accurateandfastersensorsandmachinesarebeing
developed.
Functionalrobotsarejustaroundthecornerforfruit
andvegetablesystems.
Conclusions
Crucialthatmultidisciplinaryresearch,involving
plantscientists,engineers,foodscientists,
economistsandmarketingexpertiseisfocusedon
creatingnewproductionsystems.
Innovationwillcomethroughintimate
understandingofallpartsofthesystem.
Growingsystemswillbedesignedforspecific
cropsandthendedicatedmachineswillfit.
Mechanizationandroboticsforfruitharvesting,
gradingandpackingremainsmoreofaproblem
thanforvegetables

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TheEnd
ThankstoCarlosCrisosto andUCDavisforassistance

Ascarystatisticforfruitandvegetablesgrowers.
Lowintakeofdietaryfibrefoundinfruitand
vegetablesisamajorpublichealthconcern

UFO Upright Fruiting Offshoots

Year 1: dormant

*Consumersunderspend
onfruitandvegetables
exceptforpotatoes. Dormant year 2:
*Overspendonrefined Do not head uprights
grains,fatsand Remove lateral growth with thinning
sugars/sweets. cuts to leave unbranched uprights
*Littlechange19982006. Renew excessively vigorous uprights
with dormant stub cuts

High Yields 3rd year 6 to 11 t/ha

Precision canopy management
No extensive decision making in
pruning

Dr. Matthew Whiting, WSU Prosser

Robotfarmers? Harvestingmachines

Pik Rite190Tomatoharvester Cherryharvesterwithbranchshaker

WSU.M.Whiting

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Increasedautomation
Upto10lanesinlarge
packhouses Roboticpalletwrapper