In Wageningen, Vision+Robotics experts are developing vision-based robotic picking and packaging solutions that could prepare your next salad box without human intervention.

The unique ecosystem of Wageningen University & Research (WUR) and Vision+Robotics (V+R) has repeatedly proven its value in national and international research, on land and at sea.

Every two months, we introduce a specialist and share an insight into their research and expectations. This time, it’s Jos Ruizendaal, team leader of Greenhouse Automation and Robotics.

How can computer vision, image processing and artificial intelligence help to map soil life without harming it – and in doing so contribute to biodiversity conservation?

DENSO CORPORATION wants to make the impossible, possible by changing food systems from the inside out.

The autonomous barns project works on different robots operating alongside each other without literally getting in each other's way.

Synthetic data the next big thing in the AI 'revolution'? Researchers Arjan Vroegop and Trim Bresilla explain why it is just another part of vision and robotics and identify 3 main ways how synthetic data combined with robotic simulation will take applications of vision and robotics to the next level.

Researcher Claudia Kamphuis' take on computer vision, big data, and AI for animal husbandry and breeding. What progress has been made? And what challenges (still) exist?

Research suggests computer vision could lead to future improvements in health, welfare and performance of broiler chickens in the poultry sector.

Once every two months, we introduce you to a specialist. This time it’s researcher Joseph Peller. He moves from spectral imaging to segmentation, phenotyping and working conditions in greenhouse horticulture: “You need to be able to take a more multidisciplinary approach.”

Automated digital aerial surveys could be a transformative tool for marine biodiversity monitoring, significantly improving data collection and analysis.

As soon as there is direct contact between a robotic gripper and soft fruits, damages can occur. Could soft grippers shed a different light on this?

No chemical pesticides. No migrant workers. A clean field. Thanks to the Maverick weeding robot developed by Dutch start-up Odd.Bot.

Vision+Robotics programme manager Erik Pekkeriet shares examples to advance sustainability in agriculture with robotisation and autonomy.

"The strength of the system really lies in its simplicity. You can easily apply it anywhere in the world and even power it with a battery or solar panels," says researcher Edwin van Helmond.

Erik Pekkeriet on the differences (and similarities) between the US and Europe concerning autonomy and robotics in agriculture and horticulture.

On the new world of Terahertz and Photonic Integrated Circuits, and how Raman spectroscopy and quantum dots will take agriculture by storm.

"Today's greenhouses contain more and more technology and much more is automated. These are good developments, but we mustn’t forget the human factor in these developing greenhouses," says robotics researcher Anouk Leunissen.

AI can become everything but a blessing if it's not properly used. While when properly used, it can really speed up R&D in agrifood. Read about the (mis)uses and benefits of AI in this interview with robotics engineer Trim Bresilla.

In May this year, the book 'Advances in agri-food robotics' was published. The book describes the progress that agrifood robotics has made in recent years and whether robotics is crucial to feeding 9 billion mouths in the future. Prof. Eldert van Henten from Wageningen University & Research co-edited the book. What does he think are the main advances that have been made?

Every two months, we introduce you to one of our specialists. We give an insight into the person, their research and their expectations. This time it’s researcher Janne Kool: “We need more nature knowledge. To avoid making decisions that could be disastrous for maintaining biodiversity.”

The Lelystad area is home to one of the largest arable farms in the Netherlands, growing conventional and organic crops and conducting research for companies, government and other agencies.

Could farmers instead of programmers be training robots to perform certain tasks? PhD researcher Robert van den Ven investigated the use of Learning from Demonstration to teach a robot all the motions needed to harvest an apple.

Visiting a tea plantation in Zundert, the Netherlands, where Vision+Robotics researchers are developing a smart, mobile tea machine.

‘Robotisation of our food production seems to be the answer to many questions’. A fantastic sentence in the coalition agreement presented a few weeks ago. But how do we realise this in practice?

Jacob van den Borne is Mr Precision Agriculture. Based in Reusel, the Netherlands, he uses drones, sensors, satellites and robots to collect all sorts of data. And meanwhile, he also runs a large arable farming business. “If you don’t keep records, you can’t learn.”

The combination of advanced camera techniques and automated data processing should soon enable Vision + Robotics to offer extremely reliable and fast phenotyping to other researchers and breeding companies.

Van den Borne has worked with drones for years, but was not allowed to experiment with swarming and heavier models. So, he came up with a trick.

There is a lot to gain from integrating computer vision and AI components from marine research into the broader Vision+Robotics team at WUR.

Impressions from Anuga FoodTec 2024: "Food industry must move to much shorter and much more flexible production lines with flexible mobile robots."

Machine learning and plant phenotyping techniques could help make selection and sorting of healthy young plants easier for growers.

Researcher Jochen Hemming on The Next Fruit 4.0 project, the challenges of pruning currant bushes and the first successful robotic harvest of pears.

In a few years, fishing vessels will be equipped with cameras and robots that were developed using synthetic data and machine learning. Researcher Arjan Vroegop talks about game engines, Masenro 3, and how to count fish even if you can't see them all.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is emerging as a powerful ally for researchers and professionals tasked with monitoring and measuring biodiversity and wildlife.

Researchers work on solutions such as digital twins to secure retiring pruning expertise and prepare existing orchards for future food production.

Rick van de Zedde sheds light on the intricate process of integrating AI in plant research. From raw data to meaningful information.

In the Farm of the Future experimentation and knowledge centre, researchers develop new technologies for precision agriculture.

Once every two months, we introduce you to a specialist. We offer some insight into the person, their research, and their expectations. This time, we talked to Claudia Kamphuis, senior research associate at Wageningen Livestock Research about technology in livestock farming, particularly cows on dairy farms. “Simply unleashing an AI expert on a herd of cows is a tricky thing.”

Can you picture it? A flexible robot that assembles a packet of soup ingredients or a bag of bami vegetables by itself.

NXTGEN Hightech was officially launched last spring. With the support of the National Growth Fund, over 330 Dutch knowledge institutions, start-ups, scale-ups and (SME) companies will collaborate on new high-tech machines and

Once every two months, we introduce one of our experts. We give an insight into the person, their field of research and their expectations.