Robotics systems lately have developed a soft touch to pick up delicate foods without damaging them, and there have been a lot of developments in the grippers themselves to handle these fragile products. However, these grippers can’t do it alone; they need help from 3D vision systems and a “brain” to interpret the sighting of products on a conveyor belt and coordinate the gripper to pick up and move the delicate food item safely and quickly—without damage.
One company that’s been instrumental in the development of this intelligence—based on artificial intelligence—is Soft Robotics, which has been covered in Food Engineering recently. This company has also caught the interest of investors, including Tyson Ventures, which sees the need for robotics systems that not only handle delicate food items safely, but also pick up various shaped products—such as chicken breasts or drumsticks—coming down a conveyor.