Fruit-Picking Robot

Fruit-Picking Robot CROPS New Techniques 18-3-24 An automatic fruit-picking robot is in the works at the government-funded French re-search institute CEMAGREF. The instititute says the idea has the potential to totally eliminate the need for human fruit pickers. In apples, for instance, the hydraulic-controlled picker arm uses electronic sensors to search out apples from among the leaves and branches. An on-board computer continuously analyzes shapes and sizes "seen" by the sensors. Once it finds the fruit - it can pick ripe fruit based on color - it uses vacuum power to pluck the apple off the tree and lay it in a foam-covered trough. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, CEMAGREF, B.P. 22, 92162 Antony Cedex,France(ph 140966188; fax 14096 6142).

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