Robots ideal workers at Fieldays

Professor Mike Duke.

New prototypes of horticultural robots will be on display at the NZ Agricultural Fieldays this year, taking pride of place at the University of Waikato's stand.

Tauranga-based company Robotics Plus will bring along its Autonomous Mobile Multi-Purpose Platform (AMMP) and various other apple and kiwifruit picking robots.

The AMMP machine was developed by Dr Alistair Scarfe from the company to reduce labour costs with an automated on-orchard harvesting system.

Professor Mike Duke from the University of Waikato's School of Engineering said the advances made in robotics will be able to help New Zealand crop growers achieve the maximum amount and quality of export grade yields.

"Robots never sleep, and this makes them ideal workers. They'll do the menial work humans should no longer be expected to do. Increasingly, robots will be built to work in industries that struggle to maintain a full workforce," Professor Duke said.

"Robots have been used for decades in automotive factories and, more recently, they've been introduced in horticultural pack houses. However, 'in field' robotics are more challenging because of the variability of the environment and products."

The AMMP machine by Robotics Plus can drive around an orchard on its own, with detachable robotic arms and sensors that allow it to stop at the correct place in an orchard and perform the required tasks.

Professor Duke and Dr Scarfe have supervised Waikato engineering students as they worked on the functionality of robotic attachments to the AMMP.

Meanwhile, Professor Bruce MacDonald leads a team from the University of Auckland which is focusing on developing the sensing and software systems that allows the robots to interact with their environments in the required ways.

Plant & Food Research finalises the collaboration that has ensured the technology being developed is ultimately suitable for the industry.

The Ministry for Primary Industries is aiming to double primary exports from $32 billion in 2012 to $64 billion by 2025.

Seventy per cent of New Zealand's merchandise exports currently come from primary industries.

Developments relating to robotic computing power, algorithms and sensing, plus computer-aided design and manufacturing are making horticultural robotics an increasingly viable reality, said Professor Duke.

He added that in future robots will be designed to go beyond harvesting fruit, and advancing to the point of pollination, weed spraying, thinning, transportation and quality assurance.

Fieldays will run from June 14 to 17 this year at Mystery Creek, Hamilton. The University of Waikato's robotics stall will be in the Mystery Creek Pavilion.