inaho Europe B.V. has announced the latest update to its autonomous tomato harvesting robot. With this update, the functionality of the robot has been significantly improved, resulting in a harvesting performance of over 12 kg/h.
The concept of the development is “multiple robots with affordable price” and designed to provide an efficient and cost-effective solution for growers.
With the latest development, they have introduced a new method called ‘cluster harvesting’, which replaces the traditional approach of harvesting individual fruits.
This innovative approach has two major impacts:
Improved harvesting speed:
By harvesting a cluster of multiple tomatoes at one stroke, harvesting speed (kg/h) has increased remarkably. This new patent pending technology enables a significant increase in productivity by reducing the time required to harvest a large number of tomatoes.
Lower cost:
In the previous version, where the robotic arm harvested one fruit at a time, it was difficult to achieve a competitive cost compared to manual labour, a dilemma known as the “cost per stroke” problem. However, with the implementation of cluster harvesting, there is now the prospect of offering a more cost-competitive solution, bringing it closer to the cost of human labour.
inaho Europe collaborates with Dutch grower Kwekerij Duijvestijn and TVA growers to accelerate development of the autonomous tomato harvesting robot
With the latest update, inaho Europe B.V. is taking a significant step towards revolutionizing the tomato harvesting process and improving the profitability of tomato growers.
The company continues testing the latest version of the autonomous tomato harvesting robot in the greenhouses of two Dutch tomato growers, verifying its economic feasibility and further improving its performance. Under the leadership of owners Nick Duijvestijn (Kwekerij Duijvestijn) and Ferry Adegeest (TVA Growers), they have actively embraced new innovations and demonstrated a strong commitment to improving production efficiency through forward-thinking initiatives.
” We have focused on developing simple, compact robots that are accessible to everyone. We have finally developed robots that can be introduced at a truly affordable price.”
”Looking ahead, we are keen to work hands-on with growers to explore how these robots can be seamlessly integrated into their operations, in order to maximize the co-performance between humans and the robots. We also want universities and research institutions to utilize the robot itself as a development platform.”
“As we move forward, we are actively seeking partnerships with stakeholders in the EU and other regions, including growers, investors, seed companies, equipment suppliers and research institutions who support our commitment to expanding inaho’s vision.”