Agricultural Robotics

Optical technologies play an integral role in the world of agriculture robotics. They enable robotic harvesters to navigate complex farm environments, accurately assess crop health, and determine optimal harvest times, significantly advancing the capabilities and productivity of automated farming solutions.

Robotic Harvesting: Challenges and Emerging Solutions

In an era where skilled labor is scarce and operational costs are climbing, it’s not surprising that the agriculture sector is looking for innovative solutions to help automate operations to optimize the use of available resources. Enter robotic harvesters!

Present in fields, orchards and greenhouses, robotic harvesters are autonomous, or semi-autonomous, machines equipped with vision systems, artificial intelligence and IoT. They are designed to harvest fruits and vegetables, which may be hidden under foliage and gauge their position, size, volume, shape and colour, and determine the best time for harvesting.

Read more in this blog post about the main challenges of robotic harvesters and examples of these machines being used to pick broccoli in a field and cucumbers in a greenhouse.

Automated Harvesting: Optical Technologies Enhancing Efficiency

There are many benefits to automated harvesting, such as reduced labour costs, increased quality and quantity of crops harvested, fewer crop losses and better crop management. Optical technologies play a key role in guiding automated harvesting machines, which are programmed to locate and pick specific fruits and vegetables in various environments. Some of these optical-based technologies include, but are not limited to, optical spectroscopy technologies, such as visible, near-infrared (NIR), thermal, Raman, and fluorescence spectroscopy, as well as 3D sensors and LiDAR technology.

Discover in this 20-page e-book how new technologies and innovations based on optical technologies are transforming the agricultural industry, from automated harvesting to precision agriculture, food processing, distribution and logistics.

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