Robotics in horticultural field production

Purpose of review: This review summarises the last decade of research, developments and innovation in robotics and autonomous systems for horticultural field production. It includes an overview and descriptions of the technology and of the components that enable such systems to operate and perform the required tasks or applications in agricultural environments. Findings: There has been considerable progress in this field in the last few years. Robotic systems for horticultural field production must be able to operate in unstructured agricultural environments without impairing the quality of the work in comparison with that achieved by current methods and means. In order to assimilate robotic systems into horticultural processes, technologies must be developed to overcome difficult problems such as continuously changing conditions, and variability in produce and environments. Development of intelligent systems is necessary for successful task performance in such environments. The cost of the robotic system must be low in order for it to be cost effective but, in addition, inherent safety and reliability are among the most important aspects; safety of people and preservation of the environment, the crop and the machinery are mandatory. Directions and future research: Although much progress has been made during recent years, in most cases the technology is not yet commercially available for use as more study is still needed. Information acquisition systems, including sensors, fusion algorithms and data analysis need to be improved and adjusted to the dynamic conditions of unstructured agricultural environments. Intensive research is needed on integration of a human operator into the system control loop and how it increases system performance and reliability. System sizes should be reduced in conjunction with improvement to integrate of all parts and components of the system.