21 Aug 2008

Robotic Fruit Picker

From Our Changing World, 9:06 pm on 21 August 2008

Kiwifruit robot1

It can talk. It can pollinate. It has flashing blue lights, a number of emergency stop buttons and a not at all human-looking hand.

Weighing a ton and with myriad eyes (or cameras) to help it navigate, this kiwifruit picking robot is one of the most sophisticated fruit pickers in the world.

Amelia Nurse visits the robot at Massey University's School of Engineering and Advanced Technology and talks to Rory Flemmer about what this machine can do and the future of mechanised labour in New Zealand.