Todd Davis
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I have seen the future of our industry and it looks a lot like Star Wars. Actually, it looks more like the movie Wall-E without the global destruction, planet-wide lack of vegetation and stuff. In late August I watched a demonstration of two container-moving robots at Woodburn Nursery & Azaleas in Woodburn, Ore. These machines, developed by Harvest Automation, can move, consolidate or space 1-, 3- or 5-gallon pots. They work individually or a team of robots can work in unison. Each machine moves 200-300 containers per hour and has a battery life of 4 hours. In 2012, Harvest Automation expects to make about 150 of these robots available at a cost of $25,000 each. At that cost, the company expects nurseries would recoup their investments in 12-24 months. Moving along They detect other robots and pause to let them by. You almost expect to hear them say, "No, after you." These are early versions of the product. As the years go by, like all new technology, they're going to get cheaper, faster and better. They'll accomplish more and become more available for the average grower. And as official spokesperson for the industry, I have a few new applications to suggest. Harvest Automation engineers should go to work on the following:
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