A system including a picking apparatus including at least two grippers. Each of the at least two grippers is configured to pick a respective individual crop of crops of a plant. The system is configured to move the at least two grippers of the picking apparatus in a rotational path. The system is configured to stop rotation of the picking apparatus when a first gripper of the at least two grippers is moved to a picking position along the rotational path. Other embodiments are described.

Robotic systems and methods for harvesting agricultural produce along multiple rows crops are disclosed. A mobile platform may include a robotic arm having a gripping tool and repositionable catch for collecting harvested target objects. A vision system may facilitate the identification of target objects and an associated controller may coordinate the various operational functions.

A harvesting vehicle including a body, a plurality of wheels coupled to the body, and a pick deck coupled to the body. The pick deck can include a plurality of picking systems configured to be carried over plants growing in at least one plant bed to harvest crops of the plants. The pick deck can include at least one sensor system configured to provide distance measurement data of a height of the pick deck over the at least one plant bed. The harvesting vehicle also includes a plurality of actuators each adjustably coupling the pick deck to the body, and a suspension control system configured to adjust at least a vertical position of the pick deck with respect to the body based at least in part on the distance measurement data. Other embodiments are described.

A harvesting method performed by a harvesting device including an imaging unit, includes: by the harvesting device, determining, based on a first image imaged by the imaging unit during movement of the harvesting device, whether fruit is present; stopping the movement in a case of determining that the fruit is present, and determining whether target fruit to be harvested is present in the fruit; and harvesting the target fruit, in a case of determining that the target fruit is present.

A harvesting tool configured to independently grasp and twist a target object. The harvesting tool comprising a pneumatic cylinder, a pneumatic coupling communicating with the pneumatic cylinder; bearings supporting the pneumatic cylinder for rotation relative to the pneumatic coupling; and a gear assembly configured to rotate the pneumatic cylinder relative to the pneumatic coupling. Related systems and methods are also disclosed.

There is provided a harvesting method using a harvesting apparatus including a pull-in mechanism for pulling one of a plurality of targets that grow on a plant and a harvesting mechanism for harvesting the pulled-in targets, the method including: a step of detecting a size and an inclination of the target; a step of adjusting an angle of the harvesting mechanism based on the inclination of the target; a step of adjusting a positional relationship between the harvesting mechanism and the pull-in mechanism based on the size of the target; a step of pulling the target in a direction of separating the target from a branch of the plant via the pull-in mechanism; a step of inserting the harvesting mechanism below the pulled-in target; and a step of cutting the target from the plant by the inserted harvesting mechanism.

A harvesting tool configured to independently grasp and twist a target object. Related systems and methods are also disclosed.

An apparatus for cultivation of long-stem vegetable plants, related system, methods and uses are provided. The apparatus includes a frame rack with at least one essentially horizontal cultivation platform configured to support a stem portion of at least one long-stem vegetable plant rooted in a static cultivation tray, wherein each the cultivation platform is established by a conveying device and wherein speed of the conveying device is adjustable such, as to correspond to the speed of plant growth.

An improved method and apparatus for automatically picking a fruit is described. During the clamping stage, the movement of the fingers is controlled such that a specific maximum clamping force is not exceeded. In addition, during at least a part of the removal stage, the mutual position of the fingers is controlled by the drive such that their mutual distance does not increase.

A device for picking fruit is provided with an optical detection means and a robot arm, fitted with a gripper mechanism. The processing unit actuates the robot arm to make the gripper mechanism move about the piece of fruit to be picked from below. Once grasped, the piece of fruit to be picked is rotated in such a way about a substantially horizontal axis that the stalk of the piece of fruit comes away from the plant.