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New harvest assistant for growers of top fruit

A fruit grower in Prosser, a small community in the state of Washington, has developed a new prototype. It is a new type of harvest platform. The platform holds several workers and is pulled by a remote-controlled tractor. Harvesters pick the apples and place them into vacuum tubes; these in turn transport them to containers.

Right now, the harvest assistant is being tested. The developers have been working on the contraption for over 2 years. The project was the result of an increasing demand for automation in the field. The developers claim many crops are lost due to a lack of manpower. The new machine is intended to aid and speed up the process.

The tractor can be remote controlled
The Washington State Tree Fruit Research Commission is one of the backers. The developers are hoping to market the machine as early as 2013. The invention is likely to cost between 60 and 70 thousand Euro.