The robot revolution is changing the face of farming.   This was especially evident in Hamilton last week at ‘Fieldays 2017′, the largest agricultural event in the Southern Hemisphere.   This year’s theme ‘Leading Change’ recognized that we are in an exciting and challenging time for the agricultural industry and that in order to excel and grow in the future, innovation and change is vital.

The CARES team are at the forefront of the robot revolution in primary industries.  With funding from MBIE, our team at the University of Auckland have been working with our collaboration partners – Robotics Plus, University of Waikato, and Plant and Food Research – to develop a robotic solution to the challenges of pollinating and harvesting fruit in orchards.    Our innovative Autonomous Multipurpose Mobile Platform (AMMP) robot, which is a prototype designed to harvest kiwifruit, was showcased at Fieldays 2017.   Our robot gained significant attention and was featured in the NZ Herald (access article here).

Our team also received the ‘Best Indoor Agri-Tech Business Site Award’ – so a huge congratulations to everyone involved!