Washington Business Fall 2016 | Washington Business | Page 35

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Zhang says it is still too slow. A research prototype
developed by the WSU team takes about 6 seconds
per apple. Growers would like to see an apple-persecond rate. Also, they want about 90 percent of
the fruit picked from each tree; now, the robots can
only access about 70 percent; changes in orchard
architecture will permit robots to see and pick
more fruit.
Other technical problems, Zhang says, may be
resolved in the next decade. And then, the robot
harvesters will hand the product off to other smart
machines at the packing house.

mechanized packing houses and
inspection will reduce waste, assure
quality, and cut costs

Percentage Increase of Yield/Acre
(1948 - 2015)

87% 98%

Advances in technology extend from the orchard to
the packing house. Jon DeVaney says there have been
major advances, both in how defects are detected in
the sorting process and in storing the fruit. The American consumer,
he says, has “a very high expectation of a consistent product.” With
products grown outdoors in extraordinarily high volumes, the
desired consistency can be hard to achieve. Some problems aren’t
readily apparent. With tens of millions of boxes of fruit, it can be
easy to miss something.
It’s not so easy anymore, though, with the introduction of
automated defect sorters that inspect, scan, and sort fruit using
cameras and computers. The technology uses high-intensity light
to go below the surface to scan fruit for internal problems. That’s
important, because, as DeVaney says, it’s literally true that one
bad apple will spoil the barrel.
The technology, while not cheap, reduces the number of people
required to sort and inspect and assures delivery of the high-quality
product consumers demand. The math involved is simple. It’s the

183%

Source: USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service

traditional tradeoff between capital and labor. As labor costs rise, the
capital investment becomes easier to justify.
Once sorted, the fruit is packed and stored in refrigerated
warehouses. Again, robotics will help maximize effective use of
storage space, allowing narrower aisles and higher stacks. Forklifts
require more space than robots. Eventually, much of the product
can be sorted, boxed, stored, and distributed by machine, reducing
labor costs.

technology will produce other changes in
agriculture
Because of the initial high cost of new technologies, they will
be first put to use with high value products. But, as with any
technology, the cost curve is expected to drop dramatically as
demand increases. The risk-taking early adopters, when the
technology has proven its worth, will soon be followed by others
seeking similar results.
It’s an exciting time for agriculture, the state’s other hightech sector.

Lav Khot & a drone
letsgrowtogether.ws/897-2
Ag drone
news.wsu.edu/2016/06/28/
dji-wsu-partner-agricultural-drone-research-education
Robot apple picker
www.goodfruit/
comgrowers-get-peek-at-automatic-picking-machine-video

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