ROBOT HARVESTORS LIKE ORANGES TOO 

SOME DAY, IN THE NOT-TOO-DISTANT FUTURE, THOSE ORANGES YOU EAT MAY BE UNTOUCHED BY HUMAN HANDS.

ROBOTIC ORANGE PICKERS, NOW BEING TESTED AT SEVERAL LOCATIONS AROUND THE WORLD, CAN ALREADY ANALYZE FRUIT FOR RIPENESS BY COLOR, DETERMINE ITS LOCATION ON THE TREE AND ZOOM IN FOR THE PICKING. "ROBOTS COULD REVOLUTIONIZE THE HARVESTING OF ORANGES AND OTHER FRUITS," SAYS ROY C. HARRELL, PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA'S INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES.

MANY METHODS OF PICKING ORANGES HAVE BEEN TRIED IN THE PAST. SOME RESEARCHERS TRIED TO BLOW THEM OFF WITH JETS OF AIR. OTHERS TRIED TREE "SHAKERS" COUPLED WITH CATCHER'S GLOVES OR FRAMES. NONE REALLY DID THE TRICK. NOW PROGRAMMED WITH SUPER SENSES, THE TECHNICALLY- EFFICIENT ROBOT PICKER WILL BE COMMERCIALLY VIABLE WITHIN A FEW YEARS.

THE PROTOTYPE PICKER IS MOUNTED ON A MOBILE CONTROL VEHICLE, USING ITS COLOR-CAMERA-EQUIPPED PICKING ARM. IMPROVED MODELS MIGHT HAVE MANY ARMS, ALL OPERATING SIMULTANEOUSLY AND TRANSMITTING FEEDBACK INFORMATION TO BE STORED IN THE ROBOT'S COMPUTER MEMORY. AUTOMATIC RECALL BROUGHT FORTH AT THE APPROPRIATE TIME, COULD REMIND THE ROBOT OF ORANGES, ORIGINALLY GREEN ON THE FIRST PASS, THAT SHOULD NOW BE RIPE FOR PICKING.

SONAR SENSING UNITS, SUCH AS THOSE ON AUTOMATIC FOCUS CAMERAS, MEASURE THE DISTANCE FROM THE ORANGE TO THE PICKER AND DIRECT THE ARM TO THE TARGET. WITH THIS MODEL, A ROTATING LIP GOES BEHIND THE FRUIT, CLIPS THE STEM AND LETS THE FRUIT DROP INTO THE WAITING RECEPTACLE. THE ENTIRE OPERATION IS COMPLETED IN SECONDS, ALLOWING A RAPID SWEEP THROUGH ROWS OF RIPE FRUIT. ACCORDING TO PROFESSOR HARRELL, A MULTI- ARMED UNIT WOULD BE ABLE TO HARVEST SIX ORANGES PER SECOND! THE ONLY HUMAN INVOLVEMENT WOULD BE A SINGLE HARVESTOR, TO POSITION THE UNIT AT THE START OF THE ROW OF TREES. THE SAME TECHNOLOGY COULD ALSO BE SUITABLE FOR APPLES, PEACHES AND OTHER FRUITS.

THIS PARTICULAR DEVELOPMENT GREW AFTER PUBLICITY ATTRACTED THE ATTENTION OF AN ITALIAN EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURER, WHO SUBSEQUENTLY MADE A RESEARCH GRANT OF $204,000 TO THE SCHOOL. FOR THAT, THE PROTOTYPE PICKER, AFTER ONE FINAL FIELD TEST AT SIMPSON'S GROVE NORTHWEST OF ORLANDO, GETS SHIPPED TO SICILY. FURTHER INFORMATION: DR. SALVATORE TORRISI, MANAGING DIRECTOR, AGRICULTURE INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT S.A., CATANIA, SICILY, ITALY.

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