From Agtech to Foodtech

Even three years ago, the idea of robot chefs and AI food handling was a controversial idea, with many consumers citing the “ick factor” and a lack of confidence in a machine’s ability to prepare safe human food. But in a post-covid world, the idea of fewer human workers touching our food has become more attractive. With public confidence in robotic technologies at an all-time high, and labor availability at a historic low, the foodtech industry is poised to adopt these new and disruptive technologies.

Robot Takeover: Why now?

Experts site a number of factors driving this newfound acceptance. While COVID-19 and fears around exposure and safe food handling (although risk of transmission through food contamination is actually extremely low) have certainty pushed people towards “no hands” food handling, changes in the labor market have also driven adoption through necessity. Labor shortages in all aspects of food production have become the norm over the last few years. A pivot in domestic labor away from agriculture and food services jobs has left holes in a number of industries as younger workers increasingly choose gig-style or delivery jobs such as ubereats and amazon. In addition to labor issues, strained supply chains mean processors want to be able to run their lines longer and more consistently to keep up with increased demand. For many, the switch to robot or robot-augmented labor has been a necessity in an ever changing market.

Whatever the reason, there is no denying that many of these robot innovations are here to stay. This week we’ll look at some recent innovations bridging the gap between ag-tech and food-tech.

Mycionics: Automated End-to-End Mushroom Processing

Boasting “the world’s most advanced mushroom harvesting system,” Mycionics is a Canadian company at the forefront of the robotic harvesting game. Mushrooms present a unique challenge when it comes to growing. They require a constant high-humidity environment, and harvesting is both delicate and demanding work. The humidity and temperature make this work unpleasant for human workers. In an already scarce labor market, mushroom farms have struggled to acquire, train, and retain skilled workers.

“There is an estimated 20% labour gap and 40% annual labour turnover on Canadian mushroom farms, and training a new harvester can take up to 6 months.” - https://mycionics.com/

While a humid environment is not typically conducive to robotics and automation, Mycionics has created their own system to address the specific needs of their production. In brief, the system uses a 3–dimensional laser scan to determine the cap size, stem length, and quality of the mushrooms and determine if they are ready to harvest. The harvester then picks the mushrooms, cuts the stalks, and packs them, carefully orienting them properly in boxes to be sent out. Built to match industry standard indoor growing units, Mycionics has been the first company in the world to successfully automate the end-to-end mushroom harvesting process for the fresh market.

HQV: Touchless Quality Control

Croptracker is a leading ag-tech company that provides innovative software solutions to help growers, packers, and shippers manage their crops more efficiently. Harvest Quality Vision (HQV) uses advanced imaging technology to capture images of harvested produce. The images are analyzed using machine learning algorithms to determine the size, color, and quality of each piece of produce. With the labor market becoming increasingly tight, it can be difficult for growers to find and train enough workers to handle the postharvest quality control and sorting required to keep up with demand. HQV’s system can eliminate the need for manual presorting, freeing up workers to focus on other tasks that require skill and expertise.

HQV adds consistency to the sorting process. By using machine learning algorithms to analyze the images of the produce, the system can make more accurate and consistent sorting decisions than a human operator could. This helps to ensure that the produce is sorted correctly and that the highest quality fruit is selected for packing and shipping.

PIP Innovations D-Blade: Intelligent Cuts for Fruits and Vegetables

Dutch company PIP Innovations’ D-Blade is a cutting edge technology for processing fruits and vegetables. Their “intelligent cutting robot” uses advanced computer vision technology to make precision cuts for fruits and vegetables. The D-Blade is classified as a “delta robot” meaning it has parallel arms that work in harmony; in this case, they work together to see and remove defects, cut vegetables precisely at high speeds, and intelligently remove strawberry hulls to minimize lost fruit. Their potato defect removal program is fascinating to watch as it removes defects from sliced potatoes at five cuts per second!

RoWok: Autonomous Chef

Perhaps the most controversial innovation in this week’s article, we had to include a robot chef. RoWok (yes, like “Robot Wok”) is another Canadian innovation; a fully autonomous mini-restaurant. Smaller than a food truck, the RoWok takes up about as much space as a row of vending machines. RoWok’s website claims that their self-serve autonomous restaurant can prepare up to 60 meals per hour. The RoWok is designed to be fully autonomous, which means that it can cook and serve meals without any human intervention. Customers simply place their order through the touch-screen interface and the RoWok takes care of the rest.

One of the key benefits the autonomous restaurant concept is its ability to provide nutritious meals 24/7. This is particularly important in settings such as hospitals where visitors and patients need access to healthy food options around the clock. This self-serve model also makes it a popular choice for university and college campuses, where students are often looking for quick and easy meal options between classes.

As technology continues to advance, and public perception continues to shift, we are likely to see more and more autonomous food service in the future. The adoption of autonomous technologies in the food industry continues to gain momentum as labor shortages and the need for safer food handling practices drive innovation. From Mycionics' automated mushroom harvesting system to PIP Innovations' intelligent cutting robot, these advancements have revolutionized the way we produce and process food. As consumers become increasingly comfortable with the idea of robotic food handling, we can expect to see even more advanced innovations bridging the gap between agtech and foodtech in the years to come.