OSU Researchers Looking At Getting Robotics, AI Into The Orchard

Pear, apple and cherry production was valued at $200 million in Oregon in 2022, a pivotal part of the state’s rural economy. But, the tree fruit industry is facing serious challenges; labor shortages, rising costs, stricter regulations just to name a few.

To help, researchers at Oregon State University are working on getting robotics and AI into the orchard. Dr. Joe Davidson, Assistant Professor in OSU’s School of Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering said these labor saving technologies are still in early development.

What Needs To Change?

One of the first challenges to address is whether to design the automation for the orchard, or change the orchard for automation. Davidson said they’re looking at addressing that issue with the idea of co-design.

“How do you design a robot or a machine that's best for an orchard, but at the same time, how do you design an orchard or a system that's the best for automation?" he asked. "And so that could be as much as maybe the type of rootstock, maybe the orchard, the row spacing, the tree spacing, what's the right type of trellis system if it's a high-density system? So how do these two things happen in tandem?”

Automation has been an ongoing effort at OSU, with the first major funded projects starting in 2020. Davidson said this most recent research will work on tools that can blend human and robotic laboring, aiming at easing workforce shortages while enhancing worker skills. Another issue Davidson wants to address is making discoveries in the lab easily adaptable industry wide.

“We've been holding a series of kind of ‘focus groups’ with specialty crop growers in Oregon over the past year, kind of trying to understand their pain points when it comes to technology adoption," Davidson said. "We had one with blueberry growers in the Willamette Valley and another focus group with pear and cherry growers in The Dalles and Hood River. And there's a whole host of issues that have to be addressed in terms of trying to implement technologies on the farm. And there's a whole host of logistical challenges that come with trying to translate research outcomes from university labs to actual adoption on the farm as well.”