A robot that can autonomously harvest tomatoes has been developed by Japanese electronics firm Panasonic . The device uses a camera , range - tracking ##r and artificial intelligence ( AI ) systems to detect which fruit are ripe for picking and cut them from the plant . Mounted on a platform alongside the vine , the company said the robot can perform as well as a human picker , at a pace of 10 tomatoes per minute . The device has been publicly demonstrated but Panasonic has made no announcement about its likely cost or use for its production .
A robot that can autonomously harvest tomatoes has been developed by Japanese electronics firm Panasonic. The device uses a camera, range-image sensors and artificial intelligence (AI) systems to detect which fruit are ripe for picking and cut them from the plant. Mounted on a rail alongside the vine, the company said the robot can perform as well as a human picker, averaging a pace of 10 tomatoes per minute. The device has been publicly demonstrated but Panasonic has made no announcement about its likely cost or plans for its production.