Japanese tomato harvesting robot in greenhouse Tomatoworld
A new tomato harvesting robot has recently been driving through the paths of Tomatoworld. It is the latest model from inaho Europe, subsidiary of the Japanese company inaho.
Snack tomato robot
"It's a fully automatic harvesting robot for snack tomatoes," says Takahito Shimizu, managing director of inaho Europe. "The AI algorithm identifies the ripe fruits by colour and size and then harvests the ripe snack tomatoes."
Because the device also works through the night and operates for up to 12 hours on a single charge, it can reduce human labour time by about 16%, according to Takahito. The robot has already been extensively tested in Japan before starting work in the Netherlands.
However, there are considerable differences between Japanese and Dutch growers, both in harvesting operations and post-harvest. For instance, the standard for harvesting the right colour of fruit and the frequency of harvesting is different.
To make their robot also fit well with the needs of Dutch growers, inaho wants to gain more insight into the working methods of Dutch growers and receive more operational feedback from them. Therefore, the company is also actively looking for a Dutch grower to test the robot.
Growers welcome
The demonstration at Tomatoworld also contributes to this: growers are cordially invited to come and see and evaluate the robot. "We are happy to discuss details about the robot, such as its functions and expected future updates. We can also provide simulations to calculate labour and cost savings, based on the results of the trials in Japan," Takahito says.
It is not the Japanese company's first robot. inaho already launched an AI-equipped asparagus harvesting robot in 2019. They are also working on a robot that can phenotype plants. inaho operates on the Robot-as-a-Service (RaaS) business model. This means paying per product harvested.