Scientists at Northwest A&F University on the Chinese mainland have unveiled a groundbreaking agricultural innovation: twin robots capable of harvesting apples every 7.5 seconds. Dubbed "Big Baby" and "Little Baby," the autonomous machines employ advanced visual recognition systems and flexible mechanical arms to selectively pick ripe fruit while navigating orchard obstacles.
The 1.8-meter-tall Big Baby specializes in upper canopy fruits above 1.5 meters, while its 1.2-meter counterpart handles lower branches. Current field tests focus on enhancing their terrain adaptability and obstacle clearance capabilities ahead of planned autumn 2026 deployment.
This development comes as China's agricultural sector increasingly adopts smart farming solutions to address labor shortages and improve efficiency. Researchers emphasize the robots' potential to reduce waste through precise selective harvesting – a critical advantage as global demand for sustainable food production grows.
