Walmart wants robots in stores. Target doesn't.

Walmart wants robots in stores. Target doesn’t.The "Auto-S," Walmart's shelf-scanning robot, moves around aisles and identifies which items are low or out of stock. Walmart and Target are taking different approaches to adding robots in stores, a split that will have an impact on the companies’ massive…

Royal Brinkman and Weterings extend collaboration

Re-entering of volume order for Bio Chopper series

Royal Brinkman and Weterings will continue their international cooperation in 2020. The cooperation mainly revolves around machines that are used during the busy crop rotation period: the Bio Chopper and Bio Hopper. From left to right: Stevie de le Cluse, Rob van den Berg, Igno Weterings and Bas Brinkman…

Make no mistake, labour is not only for harvesting

Smart minds worldwide are working on robots to speed up harvesting. Tomato picking robots, bell pepper picking robots, strawberry picking robots ... Yet the process prior to the actual harvest requires especially a lot of work, as Dirk Aleven of FoodVentures once again shows fittingly in the LinkedIn…

Misset and Wageningen UR - 'Global Future Farming Summit'

‘Governments must change rules of automation’

The fact that food production will automate further, is a given. That is why governments need to adapt the rules for using robots to this new reality, that will lead to more productivity and more sustainability. Automation is still in its early stages, but the developments move fast. The Global Future…

Global interest in Norwegian strawberry picking robot

The 'strawberry picking robot' can work all day and could soon replace the seasonal workers. According to Norwegian grower Simen Myhrene, this is the future: “It does not take a lunch break or anything. It is, of course, interesting to reduce wage costs." Myhrene demonstrated the robot at the…

Orange juice on wheels

"Juice, the smart way to recycle fruit and vegetables"

The juice sector is a key and strategic sector for Spain. Last year's citrus campaign was disastrous and one of the alternatives to avoid losses and the uprooting of trees was to resort to the juice industry and the vending style. The current citrus campaign, marked by low volumes and high prices, is not…

Blueberry packaging machine to help clients' needs year-round

The international trading company, Gottmann, has a new BBC Curo 12 blueberry packaging machine. They have had this device since the end of August. "We considered developments in recent years. We also took the constant demand into account. This comes from our clients as well as producers. We, therefore,…

An automated workforce to harvest Canada’s greenhouse cucumbers

Canadian cucumbers are a hot commodity. Canada is the world’s fourth largest cucumber exporter with a farmgate value of cucumber production at roughly $326 million in 2014. Amidst this strong production outlook, human labour — both cost and availability — are holding the industry back. Human labour…

Octinion Agriculture presents versatile platform for greenhouses

ExpoSE 2019: Modular platform Xenion with the Curion scouting device

At the expoSE, the Belgian Octinion company introduces the Xenion modular platform to the market. Xenion is a versatile platform for greenhouses. It can work completely autonomously…

The Lowpad enters the greenhouse

Juggling many types of plants and many different customers can be quite a challenge, but no longer, now that the Lowpad comes into play. That at least is the potential of this smart Automatic Guided Vehicle. “If you consider that with young plant growers each tray is now picked up twice and that this represents more than half…

New injectors allow for easy programming of injection rate

The D132 Series is available now. The D132 is part of the Mega-Flo Series. It has the D14 Series familiarity with the high-performance piston, low number of internal parts, and there are no Venturi tips to clog. The D132’s low injection rates allow for direct injection of undiluted products, and…

Mobile stick plug brings uniformity and relieves employees of strenuous and monotonous work

A mobile stick plug is the newest addition to the Flier Systems assortment. The machine, which is called MSM19, automatically places sticks in stone wool blocks. Great tool“For us, the mobile stick plug has become a great tool to be able to transfer heavy and monotonous work to a machine. This is a relief…

After packaging robot, BOLD has more automation solutions in the pipeline

'Newbies' in horticulture industry take big steps in automation

With no background in the horticulture industry but being surrounded by many greenhouses in the Niagara region, Canada (ON), automation experts Willem Bijlsma and Bill VandenOever started Bold Robotic Solutions Inc. 2 years ago. "We noticed that greenhouses still make use of a lot of manual labor.…

Watch this tomato picking robot in action

Recently we published an article about Root AI's new tomato picking robot, but the article lacked one critical element: footage of the robot in action. The Virgo, as Root AI called the robot, is a robot that uses 3D cameras, artificial-intelligence, enabled reasoning and a dextrous gripper in combinatio…

Crop care trolley boasts "trust-worthy basis and intuitive joystick controls"

Greenhouses that don’t have a pipe rail system can be found all over the world. In order to be able to take care of the crop economically and efficiently there, Berg Hortimotive developed the EasyTrack. A height-adjustable crop care trolley on four sturdy pneumatic tires, which can automatically drive…

China: Grand opening factory D&D Production & Sourcing

The opening of the new factory of D&D Production & Sourcing is planned for October 31st by Wim van de Donk, His Majesty’s Governor of the province North Brabant in the Netherlands. D&D Production & Sourcing is a Dutch company that produces machines and equipment for customers with their own sales…

Dietmar Baumeister sees renewed interest in the established rubber ring process in the asparagus sector

"Rubber band bundler is part of a cost-effective solution that significantly contributes to material reduction"

The rubber band bundler was developed to efficiently and semi-automatically place the rubber rings around the asparagus. In the course of the sustainability trend, the established process is currently experiencing a renewed upswing in the agricultural sector after many years, says Dietmar Baumeister of Erich…

Immigrant workers are preparing for automation in agriculture

Inside Taylor Farms’ massive warehouse in Salinas, California, millions of pounds of lettuce, cabbage and spinach are processed each day. Vegetables from nearby fields are sent here to get chopped, washed, dried and packaged. When they’re ready for packing, a yellow robotic arm called a Quik Pick & Pack…

Apex Greenhouses receives new machines to Australian Standards

Apex Greenhouses recently took delivery of 2 new building platforms in Australia. These units were designed, built and supplied by the specialised aerial lift manufacturer Omega – based in the Netherlands. The delivery went in two phases, first the Omega 408TS and secondly the Omega 830TS. Both models are…

Robots to aid Norwegian strawberry growers

Norwegian fruit farms may be able to do without most of their seasonal workers in the near future, with the introduction of a strawberry-picking robot that can work around the clock. The robot was recently displayed at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences and reported on by broadcaster NRK. It could…

David Jahn - Brillopak

The Unipaker is single pick and packs up to 75 packs a minute

The processing and packaging market is fast moving and OEM providers need to design machines to be both reliable and efficient while at the same time having an eye on future pack and presentation trends. British end of line automation specialist BrilloPak has been in the business for nearly 20 years and…

Future of soft fruit picking: UK raspberry picking robot

The development of the world’s first raspberry picking robot is gathering pace. UK start-up Fieldwork Robotics sets its sights on manufacturing in Britain next year and…

Canadian company launches all-paper label and waste liner

LABELPAC, a Canadian-based company that designs and manufactures individual fruit labeling machines and PLU labels, has announced an all-paper label applicator and waste liner. According to the company, it is the only system that uses the biodegradable paper for both the label and the waste liner. Sam…

Ken Moynihan, CEO - Compac

"It is critical in the design of our solutions that they have room for growth"

Major fresh produce post-harvest technology company, Compac says its new fresh produce sorting and grading technology is no longer about simply replacing labour costs but adding value to each load of fruit. After recently visiting 19 of the company's customers in South Africa, CEO Ken Moynihan said that…

Quest for purpose-built harvester robots

UC Merced professor to improve strawberry harvesting

As harvesting is one of the most costly and labor-intensive operations in strawberry production, an UC Merced engineering researcher is looking for ways to make it easier and cheaper. As part of a four-year project, professor Reza Ehsani will explore the possibilities and benefits of people and robots…

Plant propagation robot wins Bremen Environmental Award

The project "RoBoCut" of the Bremen plant manufacturer Bock Bio Science GmbH receives the Bremen Environmental Award 2019. With their innovative robot system, the developers of the first fully automatic production method for plant tissue culture in agricultural and horticultural plants prevailed against…

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