April 2020 - 6

ROBOT
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
one plant from another.
Now, a later generation of the same
robot could speed up the identification
of berry plants in breeding programs.
Young and her fellow researchers at
NCSU, including berry breeder Gina
Fernandez, will lease a TerraSentia for a
variety of experiments.
" We are actually going to be getting
Sierra Young works on a robot
prototype, called TERRA-MEPP, as a
student at the University of Illinois.
Photos: University of Illinois
one here and testing it out in berries, "
she said. " We'll also have to do some
working with the company to expand
their algorithm capabilities. "
While the robot has traditionally
been focused on row crops, Young
and Fernandez are interested in its
applications for phenotyping strawberry
and blueberry plants.
" We were thinking strawberries
would be our first test case because
they grow over that black plastic
covering, so that makes the image
analysis a little bit nicer for detecting
individual fruits, their size and shape
and color, and then blooms of the
strawberry plants, " she said.
Berry breeding is ripe for
improvement. Possibly strawberry
plants in the future could be bred for
more consistent canopies, canopies that
could be easily harvested, she said.
As Fernandez said in a January talk
at the Southeast Regional Fruit and
Vegetable Conference, the primocanebearing
blackberries, as well as
thornless plants, are relatively new traits
that haven't been incorporated into
many varieties.
Young noted that although there is
a robotic raspberry harvester being
developed, it moves quite slow. Most
berry patches aren't as organized or
predictable as, say, a high-density
apple orchard.
" I think there are some (crops) that are
farther along than others, " Young said.
But that too could change, she said.
" Another interesting component
that goes along with that (robotic
harvesting idea) is being able to
accurately predict and even breeding
some of these berry plants to have
more defined harvests, and the
breeding of berry plants to be more
easily harvest by machines, " she said.
RIDING HIGH
WITH ELEVATED
CLEARANCE
5MH HIGH CROP
SPECIALTY TRACTOR
FROM JOHN DEERE
Strawberries and peaches
Young also spoke at Southeast
Regional to update growers on robotic
applications for strawberries and
peaches, as well as in more general terms.
Several robotic, commercial strawberry
harvesters are in development.
" There are multiple players, investors
working in that space, " she said.
A commercialized robot, TerraSentia,
will be leased by North Carolina State
University for research on strawberries
and blueberries.
There are also some significant
efforts in the apple industry, and Young
suggested that advances in robotic apple
harvesting could apply to peach growers
if soft-touch robotic technology can be
adapted to handle the softer peaches.
" We have all of these systems, and
Designed to provide the clearance needed to minimize crop
disturbance and maximize row spacing accuracy, the John Deere
5MH will elevate your productivity. With over 24.8 inches
of front-axle clearance and low hood design for increased
visibility and operational efficiency, not to mention 100 engine
horsepower at your disposal, you can maneuver your fields
with ease. The 5MH also comes with 16F/16R PowrReverser
with creeper-featuring speeds as low as .17mph, providing the
speeds you need for your applications.
Visit your John Deere dealer today to learn more about the
5MH Specialty Tractor-and raise your expectations of what a
high crop tractor can do.
they're working on all of this, but when
can you be able to go to the store and
get one of these to use in your own
operations? " she asked. " And the answer
is, who knows? We're probably close. Is
it going to be next year? No, but maybe
5-10 years. "
But she said, wrapping up a session
at Southeast Regional, human growers
can't be replaced as decision-makers.
" Despite all of this automation, and
JohnDeere.com/Specialty
all of these machines doing all of these
tasks that humans might not, I still
think that humans matter, whether they
might be involved in a slightly different
way, " she said. Humans will likely always
be in the loop as decision-makers or
system monitors. " In the end, we still
know more than a robot does. " VGN
6 | VegetableGrowersNews.com
75035 5MH Junior Page REVISED.indd 1
12/18/18 12:58 AM
http://www.JohnDeere.com/Specialty http://www.VegetableGrowersNews.com
April 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of April 2020
