There are currently almost 8 billion people living in this world. Statistics show that the global population will grow by 40% within the next 30 years. This poses extreme demands on the agricultural industry to support nearly 8 billion people. It is estimated that the fruit industry alone will have to double in size. As populations continue to grow, the agriculture industry is facing an employment crisis. Younger generations are looking for higher paying full time jobs in urban areas. For fruit farmers, finding workers is even more difficult as job opportunities are only seasonal.

This is why one of the fastest growing trends in the agricultural industry is the implementation of automation from ground and aerial robotics. In the last few years, drones in particular have had a major impact on agricultural sciences. Drones have been used to help spray chemicals, check crop health, manage hydration levels, plan sowing and harvesting, herd livestock, and so much more. And while some people argue that drones and robotics will take jobs away from people, in the agricultural industry, it is the opposite. The drones are filling the gaps where farmers can’t find enough workers and creating more jobs at the same time. Between employing drone pilots to engineers and mechanics, the agricultural drone industry is creating thousands of employment opportunities.

Tevel, founded in 2016 by Yaniv Maor out of Tel Aviv, Israel, is a drone company that will be shaping the future of fruit farming. After years of perfecting an agricultural drone system, Tevel began using their platform at apple orchards in Israel in 2020. Tevel’s drones are unique from other agricultural drones as they can physically harvest crops. Combining AI vision learning with drone technology, Tevel’s drones, called FARs (Flying Autonomous Robots), can distinguish between branches, leaves, and fruit on an apple tree. The AI system can even recognize ripe and unripe fruit.

The FARs have an arm with a gentle gripper at the end to grasp the ripe fruit. So as not to bruise the fruit, the arm then rotates until the stem separates from the branch. Once free from the tree, the drone lowers and releases the fruit onto the padded platform of its mobile power source. The drones are tethered to an autonomous ground vehicle that travels up and down the rows of trees. This base provides enough power for 4 FARs to work in tandem, 2 on each side of the base. Sensors on the drones prevent them from colliding with each other. The drones can work day or night, for hours on end.

Tevel claims that their fruit picking drones are designed to complement already existing fruit picking practices. Right now, Tevel explains, close to 10% of fruit is left unharvested due to employment shortages. With drones, fruit farmers can reliably harvest complete crops whenever they need to. So far, Tevel has only used the drones to pick apples, but they are updating the AI software to enable the drones to pick peaches, plums, apricots, and more. Tevel’s fruit picking drones will soon begin trials at orchards in Spain and the US within the next year.

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