At Syngenta, they are working with a robotic hoover that sucks up cherry tomatoes. Ruud Kaagman, Global Crop Unit Head Tomato at Syngenta, told Spraakmakers live on the radio on Wednesday morning that they want to understand the connection between plants and robot technology. "This robot hoovers because cutting takes too long. The robot sucks tomatoes off the vine in one go." In view of the labor shortage in the labor market, these kinds of robots are being developed. This robot is a collaboration between Syngenta and Four Growers.
The robot sucking up cherry tomatoes.
The robot can also predict what the harvest will be in 2 or 3 weeks. The robot is a demo version, of which 3 are on the market. Next year, the company plans to introduce 7, and the following year, 70, eventually increasing to 140 robots. A cluster with as few branches as possible is ideal for the robot. Tomatoes without petals are also ideal, as this saves labor.
Ruud Kaagman, "Chef Tomato" (right) at Syngenta in conversation with Maarten Bleumers (left).
The part in the KRO-NCRV broadcast can be listened to here (NL).