Lightweight robots harvest cucumbers
By Canadian Packaging staff
Automation Sustainability Robotics Agriculture in Germany cucumber farming dual-arm robot European Union CATCH project Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology IPK robot harvesting cucumbersFraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology IPK is developing and testing a dual-arm robot for the automated harvesting of cucumbers with the potential to keep crop cultivation commercially viable in Germany.
Automation-intensive sectors such as the automotive industry are not the only ones to rely on robots. In more and more agricultural settings, automation systems are superseding strenuous manual labor. As part of the EU’s CATCH project (the overall objective of CATCH is to demonstrate and accelerate the redesign of urban water management of midsize cities in the North Sea Region in order to become climate resilient cities that are sustainable, liveable and profitable on the long term), the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology IPK is developing and testing a dual-arm robot for the automated harvesting of cucumbers. This lightweight solution has the potential to keep crop cultivation commercially viable in Germany.
To keep German cucumber farms viable, the Fraunhofer Institute has developed a simple, lightweight, and intelligent two-armed robot to automate harvesting of the vegetable, and is testing it with three prototype grippers for the robot: one using vacuum technology; a second with bionic jaws; and a third bespoke hand designed specifically for handling cucumbers.
To read the full article on the Fraunhofer Institute website, click HERE.
Advertisement
