The GRoW Harvesting Robot, a collaborative effort by Ridder and MetoMotion, is picking XR ToBRFV-resistant tomatoes in Axia Vegetable Seeds’ demo greenhouses in the Netherlands. This remarkable demonstration provides growers with a unique opportunity to witness the GRoW robot’s performance in a high-tech greenhouse environment, and at the same time discover the latest innovative commercial virus-resistant tomato varieties from Axia.

The GRoW Harvesting Robot, powered by advanced computer vision and machine learning, showcases unparalleled accuracy in identifying and selectively picking ripe tomatoes on the vine. Its precise performance ensures that tomatoes are harvested according to desired specifications, promoting harvesting efficiency, quality, consistency, and optimizing the overall yield for growers. The robot is equipped with two innovative arms to harvest on both sides of the row, before boxing the tomatoes and stacking them onto an accompanying harvesting trolley.

Boy de Nijs (Ridder), Cees Kortekaas & Michel de Winter (Axia Vegetable Seeds), Joep van den Bosch (Ridder) & Itamar Zisling (MetoMotion).

Axia Vegetable Seeds, a leading innovative breeding company specialized in creating vegetable seeds for protected crops, is thrilled to announce the installment of the GRoW Robot in their demo greenhouses. CEO Sandor van Vliet stated, “This cutting-edge technology marks a significant advancement in tomato harvesting and has the potential to help greenhouse growers overcome pressing challenges such as labour shortages. Having the GRoW robot available in our demonstration greenhouses allows us to closely follow the developments and gain insight into the specific crop characteristics and circumstances required related to robotic harvesting.”

The GRoW robot harvesting XR ToBRFV-resistant varieties at Axia Vegetable Seeds.

“This collaboration with Axia Vegetable Seeds enables us to demonstrate the current state of our technology and the value we can bring to a commercial greenhouse operation,” said Boy de Nijs, Accountmanager Robotics at Ridder. “We are excited to invite interested growers to witness how GRoW can replace 80% of the human labour required for harvesting. The innovative high-tech greenhouse with Axia’s XR ToBRFV-resistant varieties creates the ideal circumstances to showcase MetoMotion’s robot in a representative greenhouse environment.”

For more information and to schedule an appointment, contact Boy de Nijs or stop by at GreenTech Amsterdam June 13-15, to meet GRoW at the Robot Arena, booth 03.104.