Grape thinning robot tested in Japan's Yamanashi Prefecture

A farming-support robot was presented in Yamanashi Prefecture, which is Japan's top grape producer. The robot is developed by researchers at the university of Yamanashi to address a shortage of grape producers which is caused by the aging Japanese society. A demonstration, conducted on July 8th, was watched by 100 visiters including local grape farmers. "The robot used GPS and a camera to locate grape bunches and automatically cut off the excess grapes with its arms." 

However, It faces issues, such as repeatedly circling the same spot without finding clusters and cutting off more grapes than necessary.

A grape producer said that thinning grapes, which is removal of flower or grape clusters to help keep fruits from rubbing, requires skilled hands and the task cannot be easyly entrusted to others. 

He also said that althogh he would like to have the robot to help him with grow grapes, it needs improvement because it had only 50% success rate.

Professor Mao Xiaoyang, who leads the research team, said that while smart fruit ferming technology is behind, and it is not ready for practical use, they are working to improve the robot as soon as possible.

*the information I found 

NHK WORLD. (n.d.). Grape thinning robot tested in Japan’s Yamanashi Prefecture. NHK WORLD. https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240709_14/index.html                                                           Grapes. (2019, June 20). Crop thinning: cluster thinning or cluster removal – grapes. https://grapes.extension.org/crop-thinning-cluster-thinning-or-cluster-removal/#:~:text=Patty%20Skinkis%2C%20Oregon%20State%20University%20Crop%20thinning%20is,to%20modify%20vine%20balance%20%28fruit%20to%20vegetative%20growth%29.