Muscat grapes were chosen for the demonstration.
A multifunctional robot designed for the automated cultivation of the elite Shine Muscat grape variety was demonstrated at an experimental fruit farm in the city of Yamanashi, Yamanashi Prefecture, in central Japan.
The self-driving four-wheeled robot, developed by Yamanashi University and other organizations, is approximately 120 centimeters long and 90 centimeters wide. The attachments of its manipulators change depending on the type of tasks being performed.
During the demonstration, the robot showed how it thins out the clusters of Shine Muscat grapes.
After scanning the grape clusters using a 360-degree camera mounted on the manipulator, the artificial intelligence embedded in the robot determined which berries needed to be removed, and the robot used its gripper to extract the grapes from the clusters.
It takes three minutes to thin a bunch, while experienced workers can complete the task in one minute.
Grapevine cultivation in Japan is a high-tech process adapted to the hot and humid climate. About 90% of the harvest is grown as table grapes (the famous large varieties Kyoho and Ruby Roman), and only a small portion is used for wine production, which is rapidly gaining international popularity.
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