Robot harvests tomatoes autonomously

“It uses AI to determine the ripeness of cherry truss tomatoes,” said the company. “Only ripe tomatoes are selected, and cherry truss tomato peduncles are cut using scissors attached to the top of the harvesting robot arm and stored in the loaded crates.”

Harvesting continues under direct sunlight as well as under supplemental lighting during the night.

It carries six crates, loading them one at a time and returning to a location to swap them for empty crates when all are full.

Although Artemy runs on tracks, it can move to adjacent tracks and travel in a track-less environment, all the time sensing obstacles in its path. Batteries are replaceable to avoid charging delays.

This is not a small machine, measuring 2.1 x 0.85m, 1,7m tall and weighing 500kg.

Certhon Build is Dutch subsidiary of Denso.

“Artemy [was] developed through extensive discussions with Denso engineers and incorporating all of our cultivation expertise,” said Certhon CEO Lotte van Rijn.

See the robot at GreenTech Amsterdam over 11 to 13 June in hall 5 on stand 05.250.