Agricultural Robot Picks Tomatoes, Gathers Crop Data

A new agricultural robot has been developed to pick tomatoes. Featuring AI-based computing for 3D perception, flexible motion control and path-planning algorithms, the robot can autonomously navigate and harvest crops, gathering data along the way.

Designed by Israeli startup MetoMotion, the robot, dubbed GRoW, was developed as a response to ongoing labor shortages and poor crop yields in the agricultural industry. 

The robot is fitted with two flexible arms that can harvest two rows of tomatoes simultaneously, leveraging an advanced vision system to detect the fruit ripe for picking, and those that are still growing. The robotic arms place the picked fruit on a conveyor belt before dropping them into fruit container units, working at a speed of 16 seconds per cluster. 

GRoW also automatically gathers data on the crops as it harvests, including information on yield forecasts to improve crop management. The robot can also be used for other, typically labor-intensive greenhouse tasks such as pruning, pollination, de-leafing and data collection for cultivation analysis.

To date, MetoMotion has raised $10 million from investors Trendlines Group and Netherland-based greenhouse technology company Ridder, to scale its platform. 

"Growers have to do more with less, [and] automating labor is a key component in that,” said Joep Van den Bosch, Ridder’s CIO. “By adding greenhouse robotics to our Ridder product portfolio, we lower the threshold for growers to step into the robotic age and integrate the generated data with all other Ridder systems in the greenhouse environment."