Meet the AI robot from UAE that picks strawberries

The United Arab Emirates has unveiled an innovative artificial intelligence (AI) robot capable of quickly and efficiently harvesting strawberries. This new robot supports sustainable agriculture and can operate for up to 8 hours.

Mohamed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence’s robotics lab

The new innovative AI robot was developed at the Mohamed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence’s (MBZUAI) robotics lab. Notably, the robot can perform multiple tasks, including household chores, food delivery, and strawberry harvesting and picking.

Professor Dezhen Song, Deputy Department Chair of Robotics and Professor of Robotics, stated: “You can see it’s not a rigid mount, so every time you put it back to a different position, you have to be able to know where it is on the fly to formulate a good grasping plane. We did a lot of tests on our own – how much force can be applied to the strawberry without damaging it, so we transferred that knowledge to the robot.”

The innovative AI robot is equipped with high-resolution cameras and sensors that help analyze and identify ripe strawberries based on their color, size, and shape, enabling the robot to pick them easily. As a result, the new technologies incorporated into the robot will ensure accurate identification of ripe fruit, improving yield and reducing waste.

Additionally, the robot is equipped with a haptic sensor arm that can pick ripe strawberries without damaging them. Notably, the arm can be easily replaced based on crop types and sizes.