A UK firm has unveiled an agricultural robot designed for berry-picking that it believes can harvest at the same speed and quality as human pickers.

Cambridge-based Fieldwork Robotics said it is already working with Costa Group – one of Australia’s leading producers of fresh fruit and vegetables – to deploy its new model at various berry farms on a trial basis over the next year.

Dubbed Fieldworker 1, the new robotic model allows for more accurate detection of berry ripeness than previous models, as well as a heightened picking speed. The new robot supposedly provides growers with a “predictable cost per berry” and can work alongside human labourers.

If successful, the technology could be a vital lifeline for British growers of strawberries and raspberries. According to a survey by British Berry Growers (BBG) last month, some two-fifths of berry-picking firms in the UK are at risk of going out of business by the end of 2026 amid rising costs and poor pay from supermarkets. Among other factors...