Fruit farmers test robotic picking tech from Frontier IP

Asset management group Frontier IP on Monday announced that its Fieldwork Robotics subsidiary has entered a collaboration agreement with UK fruit grower Hall Hunter Partnership, which supplies fruit to Waitrose, Marks & Spencer and Tesco.

The agreement will see Fieldwork, in which Frontier has a 27.5% interest, field test a prototype patent-pending raspberry harvesting robot system that consists of dedicated grippers, adaptable soft-robotic arms, sensors and software able to identify supermarket-ready fruit.

Chief executive Neil Crabb said: "Working with industry partners is absolutely vital to ensuring university IP is developed in a way that meets real-world needs and can be scaled up properly. We're delighted to collaborate with one of the UK's leading soft-fruit growers to take Fieldwork Robotics' technology through the next stage of its development."

The tests, which are expected to start later this year, will allow for refinement of the technology by working in a range of environments, such as fields and polytunnels, under different climatic and light conditions.

The company said the technology can be easily adapted for use with other fruits and vegetables.

David Green, chief operating officer at HHP, said: "This partnership with Fieldwork Robotics is an exciting new development to pioneer the harvesting of raspberries robotically at a commercial scale. We are looking forward to our first human-free hectare to be picked together."

HHP grows 14,000 tonnes of raspberries, strawberries, blackberries and blueberries, and has major customers that include Waitrose, Marks & Spencer and Tesco.

Frontier IP shares were up 5.36% to 73.75p at 1019 BST.