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>Unless we come up with a machine like the combine harvester for blackberries, no one is going to be interested. Good news! https://airharvesters.com/ https://

>Unless we come up with a machine like the combine harvester for blackberries, no one is going to be interested. Good news! https://airharvesters.com/ https://airharvesters.com/ Clarkson's farm taught me that this is already a thing.

Animats 1y ago
There are several kinds of blueberry picking machines. There are air-blast pickers that blow the berries off the plant. There are ones with wheels of vibrating sticks. There are ones that get a comb around the plant and pull. Some berries get damaged, yes. Some leaves and twigs get through. They're separated out by a very fast vision-based sorting machine before packing.[1] That's been standard technology for a decade or so. Apple picking is still in the R&D stage.[2] Cost needs to come down to $0.02 per pick. It's great to see startups in this area, but the thing has to work. There are too many failed ag robotics startups.[3] Ask "could you pressure-wash this thing"? If there are wires, electronics, and bearings exposed, it's still experimental. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ica3FLAvPas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ica3FLAvPas [2] https://goodfruit.com/lots-of-bots-video https://goodfruit.com/lots-of-bots-video [3] https://www.futurefarming.com/tech-in-focus/field-robots/challenges-facing-agricultural-robotics-production-halts-and-a-market-shift/ https://www.futurefarming.com/tech-in-focus/field-robots/cha...
- m463 1y ago
  > Ask "could you pressure-wash this thing"? Is that a necessary requirement? I mean, that would probably damage current harvesters, who are human people. I mean, there are lots of parts of cars where pressure washing would probably force fluid into the bearings. Might that not apply to hydraulic, pneumatic or electronic systems too? (I do get what you're saying though)
  - Animats 1y ago
    Pressure washing a combine harvester.[1] Also trucks, tractors, etc. End of harvest cleanup for a farm in Minnesota. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-dOW2wn0rM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-dOW2wn0rM
  - elcritch 1y ago
    Yes, powerwashing would be wanted. That's an IP69K, not too hard to hit with some basic mechanical protections. Unless you need delicate sensors which need direct contact to samples to work. Maybe it's not a complete necessity, but generally it's gonna be mixed in with big farm equipment that is power washed. The more you have to "coddle" the equipment the less cost effective it'll be for farmers. Farm workers generally know how to wash themselves. Still I'd wage good money farm hands have used power washers on each other. Probably work well to clean off work coveralls!
    - andylynch 1y ago
      Used to work on a farm, and yes we did do this. Also, our wash down hoses were basically power washers, but like 10x the volume.
    - deleted 1y ago
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    - deleted 1y ago
      [deleted]
    - skeezyboy 1y ago
      >Farm workers generally know how to wash themselves. Source?
    - pjc50 1y ago
      > used power washers on each other Probably, but this is unsafe - you don't want to deal with high pressure jets of water or flying debris near eyes.
  - deleted 1y ago
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  - 9rx 1y ago
    > Is that a necessary requirement? Strictly it needn't be if it offers an even better solution, but, realistically, what startup trying to introduce a new technology (that isn't cleaning technology) has time to also develop a novel way to clean things? It is such an unlikely scenario that it isn't worth considering.

Animats 1y ago

There are several kinds of blueberry picking machines. There are air-blast pickers that blow the berries off the plant. There are ones with wheels of vibrating sticks. There are ones that get a comb around the plant and pull. Some berries get damaged, yes. Some leaves and twigs get through. They're separated out by a very fast vision-based sorting machine before packing.[1] That's been standard technology for a decade or so. Apple picking is still in the R&D stage.[2] Cost needs to come down to $0.02 per pick. It's great to see startups in this area, but the thing has to work. There are too many failed ag robotics startups.[3] Ask "could you pressure-wash this thing"? If there are wires, electronics, and bearings exposed, it's still experimental. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ica3FLAvPas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ica3FLAvPas [2] https://goodfruit.com/lots-of-bots-video https://goodfruit.com/lots-of-bots-video [3] https://www.futurefarming.com/tech-in-focus/field-robots/challenges-facing-agricultural-robotics-production-halts-and-a-market-shift/ https://www.futurefarming.com/tech-in-focus/field-robots/cha...

m463 1y ago
> Ask "could you pressure-wash this thing"? Is that a necessary requirement? I mean, that would probably damage current harvesters, who are human people. I mean, there are lots of parts of cars where pressure washing would probably force fluid into the bearings. Might that not apply to hydraulic, pneumatic or electronic systems too? (I do get what you're saying though)
- Animats 1y ago
  Pressure washing a combine harvester.[1] Also trucks, tractors, etc. End of harvest cleanup for a farm in Minnesota. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-dOW2wn0rM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-dOW2wn0rM
- elcritch 1y ago
  Yes, powerwashing would be wanted. That's an IP69K, not too hard to hit with some basic mechanical protections. Unless you need delicate sensors which need direct contact to samples to work. Maybe it's not a complete necessity, but generally it's gonna be mixed in with big farm equipment that is power washed. The more you have to "coddle" the equipment the less cost effective it'll be for farmers. Farm workers generally know how to wash themselves. Still I'd wage good money farm hands have used power washers on each other. Probably work well to clean off work coveralls!
  - andylynch 1y ago
    Used to work on a farm, and yes we did do this. Also, our wash down hoses were basically power washers, but like 10x the volume.
  - deleted 1y ago
    [deleted]
  - deleted 1y ago
    [deleted]
  - skeezyboy 1y ago
    >Farm workers generally know how to wash themselves. Source?
  - pjc50 1y ago
    > used power washers on each other Probably, but this is unsafe - you don't want to deal with high pressure jets of water or flying debris near eyes.
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
- 9rx 1y ago
  > Is that a necessary requirement? Strictly it needn't be if it offers an even better solution, but, realistically, what startup trying to introduce a new technology (that isn't cleaning technology) has time to also develop a novel way to clean things? It is such an unlikely scenario that it isn't worth considering.