Europa: soluciones tecnológicas para cosecha de precisión en frutales

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The Next Fruit 4.0 is a follow-up to PPP Precision Horticulture, which was a public-private partnership project also known as Fruit 4.0. The Fruit 4.0 project showed what could be achieved in the Dutch fruit cultivation sector through the use of new technology and data management.

Wageningen University & Research (WUR) and the Delphy Improvement Centre are now implementing The Next Fruit 4.0 as a follow-up project on behalf of stakeholders including the Dutch Fruit Growers Organisation (NFO) and FME (the Dutch employers’ organisation for the technology industry). Researchers from Vision + Robotics, powered by WUR, are providing crucial contributions to the project through several work packages.

Overall, the project is a broad partnership made up of representatives from the private sector and fruit growers, all working together to improve the sustainability of fruit cultivation and the supply chain, and to maximise yields and minimise costs. A notable feature of The Next Fruit 4.0 is a financial contribution made by the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission, which is facilitating collaboration with US universities and private sector actors.

Six work packages

The project is divided into six work packages:
1. Sensing
2. Management information
3. Robotisation
4. Preconditions
5. Implementation, economic validation and innovation adoption and
6. An innovation circle

In practice, this means detecting trees, branches, fruits and blossoms for the purpose of precision crop protection, for example. It also includes the use of sensor technology to detect stress, disease and pests, and to monitor crops and products (both pre-harvest and post-harvest). And it means using grippers for the roboticised pruning and harvesting of pears in particular, and the pruning of redcurrant bushes.

Full article: https://visionrobotics.eu/unique-interplay-between-plant-knowledge-and-robotics-for-precision-fruit-cultivation/

Source: Vision Robotics