Harvest work is hard and monotonous. This adds weight to arguments that robots could replace humans in the fields. It is already happening on a small scale in the Netherlands, but researchers have ...

After 3 years of development, including a complete harvesting season, the harvesting robot is now ready for commercial use.

In terms of productivity, this is clearly a quantum leap. Tubular knives pierce the asparagus stems, and the spears then fall onto a conveyor belt and are carried into a container. The robot itself ...

Ron Weiss and his daughter, Kristen (center), place asparagus spears on a conveyor belt to be washed at the Weiss Asparagus Farm processing facility in Red Lake Falls, Minn. on Sunday, May 20, 2018.