Robotic strawberry picking has moved a step closer after a Cambridgeshire technology firm won £60,000 of agri-tech funding.
The initial phase of the scheme, named ‘Cabeirian’, will see ten harvesting robots manufactured and offered to UK growers by Dogtooth Technologies, based in Haslingfield in Cambridgeshire. The robots will be able to navigate rows of strawberries, detect and locate ripe strawberries, pick and check the fruit before placing them into a punnet.
If successful, the project will seek to expand production and sell the harvesting robots across the UK.
The overall aim of project is to develop technology to allow a single human supervisor to easily deploy and manage teams of robots.
Dogtooth Technologies founder Ed Herbert said the project is “crucial” in developing a scalable strawberry harvesting system. “Our system will allow growers to regulate costs, predict and increase yield through early intervention, and deliver a consistent, high-quality product,” he said.
“This project will accelerate the delivery of robotic harvesting and Dogtooth looks forward to helping our customers compete in an increasingly demanding market.”
Chairman of the Eastern Agri-Tech Initiative, Mark Reeve, said: “It’s impressive to see such ambitious and innovative development within the agricultural industry.
“To be able to offer this grant to support the team at Dogtooth Technologies means we are supporting a movement towards the systemisation of the harvesting process, which will enable farmers and their teams to more accurately predict how long harvest will take.”
The Eastern Agri-Tech Growth Initiative is run by the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Enterprise Partnership (LEP) with support from local authorities.
Grants are available to organisations looking to invest in specialist equipment, new market and supply chain development, ways to improve productivity and efficiency, and the commercialisation of research.
