Brisbane-based robotics company Lyro Robotics has successfully completed a commercial trial of its latest fruit picking robot.
The world-leading picking and packing technology was tested recently at Sunnyspot Packhouse, an avocado facility in southern Queensland.
The good news is, this new technology may hold the key to the critical labour shortage now facing Australia’s horticulture industry.
According to the Australian Fresh Produce Alliance (AFPA) Australia’s fruit and vegetable industry is facing a workforce shortage of up to 26,000 people throughout the upcoming peak summer season.
Many of those jobs, pre-COVID-19, were filled by overseas travellers.
Jürgen Leitner, managing director and co-founder of Lyro Robotics, says the company has been focussing on robotic solutions to help solve labour shortages now and into the future.
“The future of robotics is bright, specifically in agriculture where there are a lot of dirty, dull and dangerous jobs – which we usually refer to 3Ds in robotics,” he told FruitNet.
“Another big advantage of robots is that they can work day or night, don’t need breaks, can work long hours and automate repetitive tasks. Robotics enables people to be up-skilled in technology, and at the same time they can carry out jobs that humans won’t or are unable to perform.”
Combining computer vision with machine learning
In the past five months a team from Lyro Robotics has twice visited the Sunnyspot Packhouse to deploy its robots and picking and packing technology.
The robots work by combining computer vision with machine learning and robotic grasping.
The robot spots an avocado on the tree and makes a decision on how to grasp the fruit correctly. It then picks it up and places it perfectly into a cardboard box.
Daryl Boardman, director of Sunnyspot Packhouse and Sunnyspot Farms at Ravensbourne, says the company hasn’t had any major issues with labour shortages – until now.
“We are pretty concerned for the next season as the Covid-19 pandemic has affected the influx of additional labour from overseas, so more automation is needed in our business to adapt to these and any unforeseen staff changes,” he said.
“I am a hands-on farmer, but I am open to technology, and embrace technology trials to ensure our business keeps moving forward.
“Lyro’s team were keen to listen and adapt the software and robot parts to make them work in our shed. They will continually tweak the software and teach it what to do, and we’re happy to have them trial their systems again next year.”
Extensive research
Leitner says the Lyro Robotics team has spent a decade researching robotic vision, machine learning, and robotic grasping, making this project a rewarding achievement.
“Even though in this case we were packing avocados, the technology behind it is not limited to specific produce or a specific item – we can pack avocados today, mangoes tomorrow and pharmaceutical items next week,” he says.
“The Lyro Machine Intelligence is a deep learning AI software system that integrates the brain, the eyes and the hands, enabling any robot to pick and pack any item, even if it has not seen it before.
More companies seeking robotic solutions
“Since the Covid-19 outbreak, we have experienced a steep increase in commercial interest for robotic solutions in food, e-commerce, warehousing and supply chain industries.
“Our innovative robots and software can work inline with existing factory operations and automated systems across agriculture, horticulture, retail, logistics, warehousing as well as waste management sectors for picking, packing, and sorting to be all done contact-free.”
Leitner says the company is aiming to have more than 100,000 robots in the field by 2030 performing “dirty, dull and dangerous” manual tasks.
Lyro received an initial funding injection from Japan’s Toyo Kanetsu Corporate Venture Fund II.
The team is now finalising a round of venture capital to commercialise its picking and packing system with Lyro Machine Intelligence software.
