야채 따는 로봇 VIDEO; Lettuce-picking ROBOT could soon help farmers trying to harvest their crops as migrant labour from Europe dwindles
Lettuce-picking ROBOT could soon help farmers trying to harvest their crops as migrant labour from Europe dwindles
Britain today is completely dependent on foreign workers to pick fruit and veg
Engineers from Cambridge developed a prototype vegetable-picking robot
Already, labour shortages driven by economic shifts have left produce rotting
Vegebot shows the use of robotics in agriculture could be expanded in future
The robot has now been successfully tested in a variety of field conditions in co-operation with a Cambridgeshire grower
야채 따는 로봇 베지봇, 케임브리지대 제작 노동자 부족에 도움 기술자들은 농업 노동력 격차를 해소하는 데 도움이 될 상추를 수확하는 어려운 작업을 완수하기 위해 야채 따는 로봇을 개발했다. 베지봇이라 불리우는 이 로봇은 컴퓨터 비전 시스템을 사용하여 밭의 한 부분을 촬영한 다음 그것을 분석하여 어떤 상추를 따기에 적합한지 알아낸다. 케임브리지 대학에 의해 만들어진 베지봇과 같은 로봇들은 자진해서 일하는 사람들이 줄어들면서 유럽에서 온 이주 노동자들의 부족으로 야기되는 문제들을 완화시키는데 도움을 줄 수 있을 것이다. 매년 약 7만 5천 명의 임시 이주 노동자들이 영국 밭에서 과일과 채소를 따는 데 의존하고 있다. 현재 대부분은 동유럽 출신이지만, 자유로운 이동이 끝나면서, 영국의 재배자들은 노동에 대한 다른 방법을 조사해야 할 수도 있다. 오늘날 영국은 과일과 채소를 따기 위해 완전히 외국인 노동자들에게 의존하고 있다. 산업 로비 단체인 전국농민연합에 따르면, 작년에 과일과 채소를 따는 밭의 계절 노동자들의 겨우 1%만이 영국인이었다고 한다. 이미 경제 변화에 따른 노동력 부족은 딸기밭에서 생산물이 썩게 했다. 많은 엔지니어들은 윔블던에서 테니스 애호가들을 일주일 동안 공급할 수 있을 만큼 건강한 딸기를 고르는 로봇 한 대를 포함하여 이러한 부족에 대비해 그들 자신의 프로토타입을 테스트해 왔다. 황기철 콘페이퍼 에디터 큐레이터 Ki Chul Hwang, conpaper editor, curator |
edited by kcontents
By VICTORIA BELL FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 00:06 BST, 8 July 2019 | UPDATED: 12:03 BST, 8 July 2019
Engineers have developed a vegetable-picking robot to complete the challenging task of harvesting lettuces which could help plug agriculture labour gaps.
The Vegebot uses a computer vision system to photograph a section of a field and then analyses it to identify which lettuce are ripe for picking.
Robots like the Vegebot, built by the University of Cambridge, could help ease the problems caused by a lack of migrant workers from Europe as willing workers dwindle.
Although the prototype is nowhere near as fast as a human worker at picking iceberg lettuces, it shows how robotics in agriculture could be expanded in future
Around 75,000 temporary migrant workers are relied upon every year to pick fruit and vegetables in British fields.
Most currently come from Eastern Europe, but with the end of free movement, British growers may have to look into other methods for labour.
Engineers have developed a vegetable-picking robot to complete the challenging task of harvesting lettuces. The prototype Vegebot, developed by a team at Cambridge University, is nowhere near as fast or efficient as a human worker at picking iceberg lettuces
Britain today is completely dependent on foreign workers to pick its fruit and vegetables.
According to the National Farmers Union, an industry lobbying group, of the seasonal workers in the fields last year picking fruit and vegetables, barely one per cent was British.
Already, labour shortages driven by economic shifts have left produce rotting in the strawberry fields.
Many engineers have been testing their own prototypes in anticipation for this shortage, including one robot which picks healthy strawberries, enough to supply tennis-lovers at Wimbledon for one week.
Another prototype by the University of Plymouth plucks raspberries from a plant and carefully places it in a punnet.
Engineers have developed a vegetable-picking robot to complete the challenging task of harvesting lettuces. The prototype Vegebot, developed by a team at Cambridge University, is nowhere near as fast or efficient as a human worker at picking iceberg lettuces
So far, crops such as potatoes have been harvested mechanically at scale for decades, but iceberg lettuce has resisted automation.
Researchers initially tested Vegebot in a laboratory but have now successfully tested it in several lettuce fields in Cambridgeshire.
View Full Text
KCONTENTS
