Canada’s greenhouse vegetable sector is booming but the cost and availability of human labour is a challenge across the sector. Harvesting is one of the most labour-intensive tasks and is a prime target for automation.
Leveraging our unique experience marrying robotics and computer vision with biological objects, Vineland has developed a proof-of-concept harvesting robot for long English cucumbers and bell peppers. Vineland’s solution is low cost, flexible and reliable; a goal which has been achieved by relying on readily available components. The magic is in a custom, patent-pending end effector for long English cucumber harvesting which encircles the fruit and traverses the length, cutting when it reaches the narrow stem. Thanks to this design, Vineland’s cucumber harvesting robot eliminates any risk of mistakenly cutting a main stem resulting in crop loss.
Vineland’s robotic harvester will be on display for the duration of the Canadian Greenhouse Conference (October 9-10, 2024)! Located in Vineland Station, Ontario less than 30 minutes from the conference location, this is an ideal time to visit the Vineland campus, see our robotic harvesting solution in action and meet Vineland staff to learn more about how your company can become the first to offer a viable commercial robotic harvesting system for greenhouse vegetable crops. Vineland is seeking eligible collaborators to invest, develop, manufacture, market and sell this technology in Canada and around the world.
To register for Vineland’s Robotic Greenhouse Vegetable Harvester demonstration, please contact us.