The robot uses the combination of artificial vision and intelligence to identify when strawberries are ready to be picked and to carry out their harvesting, and can be adjusted for various types of crops, such as tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and stone fruits, among others.

TKNIKA, the applied research and innovation centre for Vocational Training in the Basque Country, has promoted the project and has validated the robot in a strawberry crop in its facilities.

The Department of Education, through the applied research and innovation centre for Basque Vocational Training, and the Eurecat technology centre, have joined forces to develop a new technological solution for application in the first sector. It is an intelligent robot that combines vision and artificial intelligence for the harvesting of delicate fruits such as strawberries. The robot has been presented at the Expo AgriTech 2024 fair focused on technologies for the agricultural sector, which is being held from November 26 to 28 in Malaga.

Developed within the framework of the HarvBot (HARVesting coBOT) project, the robot is equipped with artificial vision and intelligence technologies for fruit detection and has a data system to monitor the state of the crop and the harvesting process.

Within the framework of the project, new 3D printed components have been designed and tested to adapt the robot to identify and harvest fruit, as well as algorithms for detection and handling tasks.

The current solution has been validated with strawberries, but can be adjusted for various types of crops, such as tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and stone fruits, among others.

The robotic solution, which has been developed thanks to a market need identified by TKNIKA, the applied research and innovation centre for Vocational Training in the Basque Country, promoter and driving force of the project, has been validated in a hydroponic crop, that is, without soil, with strawberries in Tknika's own facilities, in Errenteria (Gipuzkoa) and has served as a pilot test for the company Enkitek.

The application of software in an agnostic way to the hardware used, the main pillar in this project, is the key to introducing automation in this emerging sector, allowing access to the growing offer of low-cost robots and becoming scalable businesses.

Robotic solutions such as this one make it possible to respond to the growing need of agri-food companies to optimise tasks in the field in the face of labour shortages, as well as to generate a database for monitoring the crop, which facilitates more sustainable and resilient management in the face of climate change.