Moreno Intec del Pla, a company located in El Poal (Lleida), impressed attendees at the fruit conference organized by the Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentà ries (IRTA) with a novel apple-harvesting robot. This robot combines eight drones, advanced vision, and artificial intelligence to identify and harvest fruit.
"The robot is designed to reduce the amount of human labor required for fruit harvesting, given the sector's challenge in recruiting workers. Its current speed doesn't match manual harvesting, but this will improve and enable round-the-clock operation," stated Sergi Moreno, the company's managing director.
For years, Moreno Intec has marketed fruit harvesters where workers stand on side platforms to deposit fruit onto conveyor belts. The new robot is an evolution of these machines, replacing human workers with drones equipped with telecameras and artificial intelligence, capable of selecting fruit by size, color, or caliber. The company reports that this machine is already being used in Argentina.
The project, started four years ago, involves the Japanese company Kubota. At the IRTA conference, a new product was introduced that reduces the need for manual thinning, a major cost in sweet fruit production. This chemical, applied in spring, decreases the number of flowers the following year by 40% to 60%, while maintaining fruit quality.
Source: lavanguardia.com
