Autonomous flying robots capable of collecting fruit: this is how Tevel promises to tackle the lack of temporary workers

“We are here to lend a hand.” The slogan is from Tevel Aerobotics Technologies, an Israeli technology company, and is striking because — in its own way — the firm does lend a hand to its clients, albeit not in a conventional way. Its autonomous harvesting robot is capable of detecting ripe fruit on the trees and has an arm that removes apples, avocados or oranges, for example, straight from the branches, flying at your height.

In addition to a hook that allows him to grab the fruit, Tevel’s autonomous flying robot -FAR, in its acronym in English- incorporates artificial intelligence to identify and collect the pieces once they are at their proper point of maturation. As detailed, thanks to the AI, locates the trees and recognizes the fruit that can be removed from the foliage based on aspects such as its size or color. Once they have identified their “prey”, the FAR looks for the best way to approach and stabilize. The robots are connected to autonomous vehicles that supply power.

Tireless worker, day and night

The Israeli company ensures that its robots can be adapted to farms of all sizes and does not hide its vocation to expand into new markets and try its luck internationally. On its official website it states that “next year there will be pilot tests in Spain, the United States and Italy” in apple plantations of more than 100 hectares.

At the moment, videos and images are showing how the FAR works. In addition to the robot itself, the company has a management tool that allows you to control parameters such as the type of fruit that is harvested, the units, the time, the weight or the cost. Its objective –details Tevel herself— is to avoid merchandise that ends up rotting or being sold at a loss. In fact, it ensures that the device is ready to work both day and night.

“Our autonomous flying fruit-picking robots fill unmet labor needs at the right time and at a lower cost”, assures the company, which draws its future using arguments such as the increase in farms or the decrease in agricultural employment. According the data exposed by the company itself, the land devoted to fruit production globally will double to 140 million hectares in 2050; meanwhile, employment in the sector will be reduced, during the same time, to more or less half.

“The shortage of collectors means that more than 10% of the fruits in the world are not picked, which is equivalent to the annual consumption of the EU”, settles the Israeli firm, which stresses, in any case, that its devices seek to “complement” the work of the operators and not “replace them”. The pandemic and its impact on farms, where has complicated the hiring of labor with the documentation in order and the accommodation options for seasonal workers, it has coincided with an apparent increase in interest in the work of Tevel, a company founded in 2017.

Just one year ago Kubota, a Japanese multinational dedicated to the manufacture of agricultural machinery, announced its decision to financially support the Israeli firm. She was not the only one who embarked on the project. AFN detalla that the company managed to attract the attention of other companies in the sector and raise around 20 million dollars in funds. “The COVID-19 crisis has further aggravated labor shortages and increased risk in fruit production by limiting the availability of migrant workers. Therefore, Tevel’s solution increases global food security by providing a reliable supply chain.” Kubota reasoned.

Tevel is not in any case the only one that has caught the attention of investors. just days ago The Times pointed out how Silicon Valley is pouring billions into robot farming in a scenario of labor shortages that is affecting areas with large farms, such as California. Some studies even point out exponential growth in a sector that also includes other devices, such as tractors without robots or milking devices.

Images | Tevel