Farmers spend more than $34 billion a year on labor in the U.S., according to the USDA. And many would like to hire more help. But the agriculture industry here faces labor shortages, thanks in part to the scarcity of H2B visas, and an aging worker population. Older workers can’t necessarily handle the hours or repetitive physical tasks they once might have.
That’s where Root AI, a start-up in Somerville, Massachusetts, comes in. The company’s first agricultural robot, dubbed the Virgo 1, can pick tomatoes without bruising them, and detect ripeness better than humans.
The Virgo is a self-driving robot with sensors and cameras that serve as its eyes. Because it also has lights on board, it can navigate large commercial greenhouses any hour of the day or night, detecting which tomatoes are ripe enough to harvest.
Latest from Produce Grower
- The Growth Industry Episode 3: Across the Pond with Neville Stein
- PG CEA HERB Part 2: Analyzing basil nutrient disorders
- University of Evansville launches 'We Grow Aces!' to tackle food insecurity with anu, eko Solutions
- LettUs Grow, KG Systems partner on Advanced Aeroponics technology
- Find out what's in FMI's Power of Produce 2025 report
- The Growth Industry Episode 2: Emily Showalter on how Willoway Nurseries transformed its business
- 80 Acres Farms expands to Georgia, Texas and Colorado
- How BrightFarms quadrupled capacity in six months
