The British supermarket Ocado wants to use a robot to pick fruit and vegetables at its distribution centre. The robot picks up products gently, making it particularly well-suited to picking fruit and vegetables. The online supermarket is currently testing the robotic arm at its automated distribution centre in Hampshire.
The robot looks like a bendable gripper with five fingers. Air pressure allows the hand to feel and grab the product. In time, the robot will be connected to a recognition system, allowing the hand to recognise the product and decide for itself what pressure to apply to it.
At the DC, the first prototype robots select crates of customer orders. Human order pickers are currently responsible for picking the contents. In the future, robots should also take on this work. Together with several universities and research institutes, the Ocado Technologies division is developing the next version of the robot hand that can pick and pack fragile products. Such a hand could reduce food waste because the gripper is more careful than an average human hand. This leads to improved product shelf life. Eventually, the robot hand should also start selecting fruit based on ripeness.
Editorial LogistiekProfs
