I, Robot: Picking Tomatoes In The Automated Greenhouse

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) robotics lab has been developing robots that pick tomatoes in a computer-controlled greenhouse and tend to other agronomic functions.

It doesn't sound like the research is headed toward any kind of immediate commercial applications, but the work does underscore some of the challenges that await anyone trying to program robots to harvest individual items. Such work is underway, though, at universities in at least 2 states, Florida and California. One goal: an orange-picking machine.

The MIT approach was interesting in how cheaply researchers and grad students could build a working model: something less than $900. The platform was an iRobot Roomba, the little circular vacuum cleaner that actually does a good job of tidying up the kitchen.

Here's a link to more info on the MIT project.

-- Owen Taylor