Automation

The world is facing food insecurity problem due to shortage of workforce and growing world population. Robotization of crop production will help to boost food production, through effective labour conservation. This study was carried out to optimize the performance of tomato fruits' robotic harvesters,…

In most ports, terminal automation primarily focuses on container handling while the monitoring of individual containers is done manually. Monitoring is key in keeping the temperature of perishables at the right levels, but it is a very labor-intensive job as the temperature setting and monitoring are…

It is safe to say that 2020 was a year unlike any other. The COVID-19 pandemic brought on significant changes to everyday life across the world. It also brought some significant challenges to businesses from retail, to restaurants and manufacturing. The supply chain industry faced a challenge like no other when shutdowns began and manufacturers were left scrambling to come up with a backup plan. Although these challenges were tough to handle, it gave the industry a much-needed eye opening to make the changes needed in order to avoid this from happening again.

An optimal control for the opening and closing of the side ventilation windows of a greenhouse can be obtained from a mathematical model of the crop and the greenhouse. In the greenhouse model, control input is the ventilation, and to carry out the instrumentation in the immediate future, this term we…

COVID-19 has accelerated interest in the role that automation, robotics and data can play in food and agricultural production. We speak to industry leaders to learn about the latest developments.

Thanks to living through a global pandemic, many of us have significantly reduced our visits to stores and supermarkets. When it comes to fresh produce, delivery services are often disappointing, as they often mix up orders or simply don’t have what we need when we need it. Rather than go without, there’s a better option for getting immune boosting fresh fruits and vegetables without ever leaving the safety of your own home: the Lettuce Grow Farmstand indoor garden. Under the premise healthy food for everyone, Lettuce Grow simplifies urban gardening so that anyone can harvest their own fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs from the comfort of home.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is still developing rules on the use of drones, but individual companies are gradually getting some kind of license.  Now, the FAA for the first time approved fully automatic drone flights for commercial purposes. The permit was issued to a small Massachusetts company,…

The idea for a new machine often comes from a manufacturer looking for a solution or from a machine manufacturer who sees a gap in the market for a new application. This time, however, it was the distributor who came up with an idea and worked it out into a concrete machine together with the…

Murre Technologies, a Dutch company that supplies food-processing equipment around the globe, has developed industrial machines that automate cutting, peeling, dipping and sorting fruits, vegetables, seaweed and seafood. For example, there is the installation that cuts and core fresh apples into perfect…

Cyberworks Robotics announces the initial sale of 18 autonomous (self-driving) tow-tractors to Fernlea greenhouse. This represents the first deployment of autonomous tractors in an industrial greenhouse anywhere in the world. The order represents the first batch of up to 90 autonomous tractors expected…

Dutch tomato specialist RedStar has succeeded in further reducing the amount of used plastic for packaging in the supermarket. By expanding a special production line, even more tomatoes can be packed in thin plastic trays instead of the thicker buckets. As a result, 40% less plastic is used. For the…

The Canadian organisation Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada AAFC is launching a challenge to enhance automation in the production and harvesting operations of CEA facilities. Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) is an indoor technology-based production system where crops are grown under a modified and…

Havecon has been known as a turnkey greenhouse supplier for many years now, but as of now they'll take turnkey to a new level under the name of “Havelettuce Projects”. Havelettuce will not only take on the build of a greenhouse but the complete project realization, offering a plug and play concept for…

“This year hasn’t been great but considering the circumstances, we were quite lucky”, says Rick Briston, business development manager for UK-based machinery manufacturer Redpack. A common sentiment at the end of this year. The COVID-pandemic has brought a number of challenges for the fruit and vegetable…

SAIA Agrobotics, a tech spin-off from Wageningen University & Research, will further develop its technology for greenhouse robotics with investments from the Technology Transfer funds of Innovation Industries, SHIFT Invest and the ION+ fund managed by Oost NL. SAIA Agrobotics develops robots that can…

Professional growers nowadays are supplying a large variety of plant species to their clients. A very labor-intensive process and in addition to the extensive audit work, it’s also a very error-prone process leading young plant propagators to expensive and often compromised solutions. That’s why TTA…

Technology beat farmers at growing strawberries in the inaugural Smart Agriculture Competition organized by Pinduoduo, China’s largest agri-focused technology platform, underscoring its potential to raise agricultural productivity and increase food security. The four technology teams, which employed data…

Available in January 2021, ecoation’s next generation of the OKO platform (OKO Tantalus) offers several upgrades including the world-first 8K 360-degree virtual walk with live broadcasting software and cart-independent hardware that allows the platform to be easily installed on existing fleets. These…

Walmart will use fully autonomous box trucks to make deliveries in Arkansas starting in 2021. The big-box retailer has been working with a startup called Gatik on a delivery pilot for 18 months. Next year, the two companies plan on taking their partnership to the next level by removing the safety driver from their autonomous box trucks.

Gatik, which is based in Palo Alto and Toronto, outfitted several multitemperature box trucks with sensors and software to enable autonomous driving. Since last year, those trucks have been operating on a two-mile route between a “dark store” (a store that stocks items for fulfillment but isn’t open to the public) and a nearby Neighborhood Market in Bentonville, Arkansas. Since then, the vehicles have...

HSE 300 is the latest solution for spraying in a greenhouse. The machine has two spraying bars up to 3m high, one spraying the end of the row, the other spraying the plants on both sides. Both are equipped with nozzle heads that can be adjusted and individual setting of the spray liquid stream. "The…

Producers seeking solutions, often come up with ideas for new machines. Or, it's machine manufacturers who see a gap in the market. This time, however, it was a distributor who came up with an idea. They developed it into a working machine along with the manufacturer. The result? A bell pepper de-coring…

Ford’s long-running Miami self-driving car tests might just prove vital during the pandemic. The automaker, Argo AI and The Education Fund are running an eight-week pilot program that uses autonomous Fusion Hybrid cars to deliver fresh produce to Mia...

Since 2016, Lisa Zapf, managing director of Zalat-o-mat LLC from the Palatinate, has been operating a steadily growing number of vending machines, called Zalat-o-mats, in which fresh regional products -particularly vegetables and salads from her own farm- are sold. The increasing production volumes now…

A motion precision equipment and automation solution provider,  wanted to build an advanced, vison-based, smart farming solution to analyze the growth of plantations inside a greenhouse. After evaluating the available market options, the client selected LTTS (L&T Technology Services Limited) for this project.…

Demand for processed fruits and vegetables has gone up in the last few months. Consumers have been stocking up on non-perishables in case of a lockdown or quarantine. Hospitality-closures and working from home have increased home-cooking  which increased the need for fresh-cut or prepared meals. “There are…

ID Technology, a ProMach product brand, introduced their new M2 label applicator. This label head applies pressure sensitive labels to clamshells, tubs, boxes, trays, bottles, and pallets as well as other packages. Featuring a new onboard controls module with ProMach’s Titanium motion controller, as well…

With automation poised to transform agriculture in Australia in the coming years, Monash University researchers have published the first-ever analysis of the ethical and policy issues raised by the use of robots in agriculture. Agriculture employs around 2.5 per cent of the country’s workforce and is a…

The year 2020 has been a difficult one dominated by the pandemic. Even with increasing work volumes and fewer staff available, TopControl technology provided its hardware and software solutions to guarantee fresh products. A video of the machine while it is operating The most challenging aspect in these…

"This is a peculiar year - the pandemic has made everything new and uncertain. One of few sectors unaffected by the crisis is the agricultural and food sector, especially when it comes to large retail chains and producers. Most of our clients belong to this category and, luckily, they are going through…

Around the world, growers have always found innovative ways to work smarter. Although processes and inputs can be stretch to the limit to maximize profits, human labor cannot, and it is becoming a devastating problem. The increasing worker shortage continues to make it difficult for farmers to get the…