Korean researchers have developed robots that can harvest and transport crops without human assistance. The technology can be used in agricultural facilities such as smart farms. The multiple-robot system consists of harvesting robots and transfer robots that can fully automate the harvesting and transportation processes.
Advanced level of skills required
Robots for harvesting in facility farming have faced difficulties due to the complexity and high variability of the agricultural environment. The previous robot technologies for harvesting crops were limited to implementing single crop harvesting functions. However, the new multiple-robot system developed by the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM) can automate crop harvesting work for the entire farming facility.
Harvesting and transportation technologies
There is no limit on the number of robot units, so it is possible to have multiple harvesting robots actively harvesting crops and multiple transfer robots transporting crops at the same time.
The harvesting robots use robotic arms and high-powered robotic hands developed by KIMM to harvest tough crops without difficulty. They recognize crop information rapidly and precisely in facility farm settings by applying KIMM’s cutting-edge mechanical and AI technologies.
Efficient and precise crop harvesting
The harvesting robots are equipped with a box in which they then temporarily store the harvested crops. Once the box is filled to a certain point, the crops are transferred over for transport. The KIMM research team succeeded in developing crop harvesting with 80% efficiency compared to that of humans, assuming a crop recognition rate of over 90%.
Solving labor shortage problems
The KIMM principal researcher Choi Tae-yong stated that the newly developed multiple-robot system for harvesting crops marks the beginning of research to solve labor shortage problems in agricultural areas. He added that the KIMM team will continue to conduct research on performance and functional enhancement technologies.
The multiple-robot system for harvesting crops was developed as part of the “Advanced Agricultural Machinery Industrialization Technology Development Project”, operated by Korea Institute of Planning and Evaluation for Technology in Food, Agriculture and Forestry (IPET), under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs. The research study included participants from Hada Co., Ltd., the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Chungbuk National University, and Chungnam National University.
KIMM is a non-profit government-funded research institute under the Ministry of Science and ICT, contributing to economic growth by performing R&D on key technologies in machinery and materials, conducting reliability test evaluation, and commercializing the developed products and technologies.
