KUKA, in collaboration with the Upper Bavarian company digital workbench, launched a cooperation at Agritechnica, a trade fair for the agricultural sector in Hanover, Germany. The primary objective of the collaboration is to boost assistance with the deployment of a mobile harvesting robot to support fruit farmers during the apple harvest.
“Both companies are contributing one of their most innovative new developments for automation in fruit growing to this cooperation,” Josef Schmidt, a founder and managing director of digital workbench gmbh, said. “With KUKA, we have an absolute specialist with many years of experience and sophisticated know-how in the field of robotics at our side. The result is a practice oriented collaboration that will provide us with many valuable insights for our next development steps with regard to automation in fruit growing.”
Schmidt added that “In the future, we want to test and further develop the interaction of our equipment and exploit synergies, especially with regard to apple cultivation. We are very much looking forward to this.”
Two KUKA small robots from the KR AGILUS series are mounted on the new Tipard 1800 multi-carrier platform from digital workbench. In a pilot project that has been running since 2020, KUKA is already testing a customised version of the small robot specifically for apple harvesting. With a vacuum suction cup combined with artificial intelligence and vision technology, the extremely manoeuvrable precision artist has been used in harvesting test runs.
Compared to a conventional gripper, the vacuum suction cup can distribute the pressure more evenly over the surface of the apple and thus avoid unwanted pressure points. Cameras recognize important parameters such as ripeness, condition and size and, of course, the position of the apple. The carrier platform presented at the trade fair impresses above all with its high performance and almost endless multifunctionality. In addition, the Tipard 1800 takes digitization and automation to a whole new level.
In future, the robot arms will move autonomously across the fruit fields in specific practical projects. The mobile and smart automation solution of the two cooperation partners will then be used where previously harvesting machines with several harvesting assistants were used.
“We assume that harvesting robots will be used more and more in the future,” Alois Buchstab, a vice president at KUKA Business Development, said. “The technology still needs to mature for large-scale use and the plantations also need to be planted in such a way that the harvesting robot can work efficiently.”
The aim is to work with a digital workbench to develop a robot system that makes the most difficult tasks in agriculture easier. An automatic apple harvesting system that does not damage the crop is an important development in an industry that is dependent on seasonal labour. For KUKA and digital workbench, the key therefore lies in automation.
Comment on this article below or via X @IoTGN
November 23, 2023
Posted by: Anna Ribeiro
GCI announced that it has been granted $35 million (€32.40 million) from US Department of Agriculture Rural Development’s ReConnect programme to bring fibre-optic connectivity to Toksook Bay, Emmonak, and Tununak. Connectivity will be delivered to three communities through an expansion of AIRRAQ network, a joint GCI-Bethel Native Corporation (BNC) project to deliver high-speed broadband service to communities in Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. (more…)
September 5, 2023
Posted by: Janmesh Chintankar
The LoRa Alliance, a global association of companies backing open LoRaWAN (low-power, wide area network) standard for internet of things (IoT) low-power wide-area networks (LPWANs), has announced programme for upcoming LoRaWAN Live! Tokyo. The event will focus on sharing LoRaWAN solutions for critical global challenges, including food supply, manufacturing automation, safe work environments, sustainability, resource conservation, and business optimisation. (more…)
August 24, 2023
Posted by: Shriya Raban
Huawei‘s HongMeng Kernel was awarded the Evaluation Assurance Level 6 Augmented (EAL6+) certificate as part of Common Criteria for Information Technology Security Evaluation (CC), the high security level available in the field of general-purpose operating system (OS) kernels. Huawei is an initial smart device manufacturer to receive the certification in Information Technology Security Evaluation. (more…)
August 18, 2023
Posted by: Shriya Raban
Hexagon AB, a provider in digital reality solutions, combining sensor, software and autonomous technologies, has announced an agreement with diversified mining company Mineral Resources (MinRes). With the help of this arrangement, Australia will be able to operate a fleet of 120 fully autonomous road trains, improving regional sustainability, productivity, and safety. (more…)
August 1, 2023
Posted by: Janmesh Chintankar
PCTEL, Inc., a provider of wireless technology solutions, has announced its new Edge Sensor platform. The Edge Sensor is an integrated, flexible antenna plus sensor solution focused on reliable and improved edge connectivity and sensing for harsh industrial IoT (Internet of Things) applications such as smart utilities, agriculture, mining, and industrial process automation. (more…)
July 24, 2023
Posted by: Janmesh Chintankar
ZTE Corporation, together with True Corporation, Thailand’s telecom-tech company, have jointly launched the True & ZTE Innovation Centre at True Digital Park in Bangkok. The collaboration between True and ZTE will inject new vitality into Thailand’s digital transformation. (more…)
July 7, 2023
Posted by: Janmesh Chintankar
The IoT market has immense growth potential, with an estimated $5.5 trillion to $12.6 trillion in global value by 2030, according to a McKinsey report. As we look ahead to the next wave of advancements, The Things Conference 2023 emerges as a pivotal event, set to take place on 21-22 September in Amsterdam. Here are the latest industry trends that will be covered during the event:
June 28, 2023
Posted by: IoT global network
Following the launch of the government’s rural statement, the government has also announced the appointment of Simon Fell MP as the UK’s ‘Rural Connectivity Champion’. (more…)
June 15, 2023
Posted by: Janmesh Chintankar
Ubiik, an AMI and end-to-end LTE solution provider, has announced the launch of freeRAN, a LTE-M base station. With a base station operating in the US 915MHz license-exempt band (also known as ISM band 902-928MHz), this new product release will empower businesses to achieve levels of connectivity without the existing cost barrier of securing spectrum. (more…)
June 10, 2023
Posted by: Janmesh Chintankar