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U. Of Arkansas develops a berry-picking robot.

Posted on 8/3/25 at 12:16 pm
Posted by DesScorp
Alabama
Member since Sep 2017
9465 posts
Posted on 8/3/25 at 12:16 pm
Well done, Hogs. Looks like one of Doc Ock’s arms.

quote:

The U.S patent was issued in April to the U of A for the invention “Soft Robotic Gripper for Berry Harvesting.” Technology Ventures, part of the Division of Research and Innovation, secured the patent. The device was developed by Anthony Gunderman, at the time a Ph.D. student and now an assistant professor in U of A’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, with Yue Chen, a former U of A professor now at Georgia Tech, and Jeremy Collins, then a U of A undergraduate engineering student.




On the tip of each finger is a force sensor, which makes sure the gripper can pluck the berry without crushing it. Roughly handled blackberries can be damaged at harvest or turn red after harvest, a condition called red drupelet reversion. Both are undesirable attributes for consumers. The USDA will also reject fresh blackberries with too much damage or too many red drupelets.

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LINK

Posted by 777Tiger
Member since Mar 2011
87870 posts
Posted on 8/3/25 at 12:18 pm to
can it turn a double play?
Posted by kywildcatfanone
Wildcat Country!
Member since Oct 2012
135143 posts
Posted on 8/3/25 at 12:31 pm to
That's just a drawing
Posted by AllDayEveryDay
Nawf Tejas
Member since Jun 2015
9136 posts
Posted on 8/3/25 at 12:39 pm to
*Mexico sighs*
Posted by sledgehammer
SWLA
Member since Oct 2020
6646 posts
Posted on 8/3/25 at 12:41 pm to
“Who’s going to pick our blueberries?”
Posted by shutterspeed
MS Gulf Coast
Member since May 2007
70243 posts
Posted on 8/3/25 at 12:42 pm to
quote:

U. Of Arkansas develops a berry-picking robot


Posted by Hangit
The Green Swamp
Member since Aug 2014
45152 posts
Posted on 8/3/25 at 12:42 pm to
Baw invented, designed and made the berry picker while a student. Does he get rich or does the school claim the money?
Posted by Bjorn Cyborg
Member since Sep 2016
33783 posts
Posted on 8/3/25 at 12:51 pm to
Berry pickers deserve a livable wage.

What’s that? A machine can do our jobs?

Ok, never mind
Posted by LSURussian
Member since Feb 2005
133412 posts
Posted on 8/3/25 at 12:55 pm to
quote:

U. Of Arkansas develops a berry-picking robot.
That robot will likely drop most of the berries and then step on or roll over them. And then cry about it...
Posted by bigjoe1
Member since Jan 2024
1411 posts
Posted on 8/3/25 at 12:57 pm to
quote:

Does he get rich or does the school claim the money?


Link says patent issued to the school so I imagine they get whatever evenue is generated.
Posted by imjustafatkid
Alabama
Member since Dec 2011
62155 posts
Posted on 8/3/25 at 1:00 pm to
quote:

Baw invented, designed and made the berry picker while a student. Does he get rich or does the school claim the money?


Depends on the school. You should ask this question when touring. For my rising engineering student, universities that told us they keep claim to student patents on inventions created while a student were instantly excluded from consideration.

I don't know Arkansas' policy, but here are two competing examples from schools we toured:

Mississippi State actively advertises that they will NOT lay claim to your patents and ideas created while a student. They will help you obtain the patent and everything. They operate under the idea that they are far better off if their engineering majors profit and then give money back to the university. Their engineering school is thriving and awesome.

UAB steals your work and will profit from it. You get nothing. This was the most extreme case we came into contact with. My rising Freshman went from wanting to attend UAB to completely removing them from the board in an instant. Note: this is not the same policy as at the main Alabama campus and appears to be a flaw specifically with UAB.
This post was edited on 8/3/25 at 1:04 pm
Posted by Pedro
Geaux Hawks
Member since Jul 2008
37984 posts
Posted on 8/3/25 at 1:02 pm to
3 bans, 6 PMs
Posted by Rouge
Floston Paradise
Member since Oct 2004
138110 posts
Posted on 8/3/25 at 1:07 pm to
200 years too late
Posted by Klark Kent
Houston via BR
Member since Jan 2008
72745 posts
Posted on 8/3/25 at 1:09 pm to
quote:

can it turn a double play?


Posted by Martini
Near Athens
Member since Mar 2005
49583 posts
Posted on 8/3/25 at 3:36 pm to
University of Arkansas Ag is the preeminent developer of blackberries and their fruit breeding program is phenomenal.

Margaret Worthington too over the department from Dr. John Clark who developed thornless blackberry varieties that are amazing. I have 200 thornless brambles from them and pick buckets of huge sweet blackberries.
Posted by DesScorp
Alabama
Member since Sep 2017
9465 posts
Posted on 8/3/25 at 6:11 pm to
quote:

That's just a drawing


The link to the announcement has a pic of the engineer with the actual unit.

Posted by LSUA 75
Colfax,La.
Member since Jan 2019
4618 posts
Posted on 8/3/25 at 11:19 pm to
I have several blackberry plants from U of A,some with thorns and some without.
A lot of my berries turn red when I freeze them.Maybe I’m too rough on them.
Posted by Sofaking2
Member since Apr 2023
18643 posts
Posted on 8/3/25 at 11:22 pm to
quote:

can it turn a double play?

If you hit a berry in foul territory or left field will it catch it?
Posted by TigerHornII
Member since Feb 2021
1154 posts
Posted on 8/3/25 at 11:30 pm to
quote:

Depends on the school. You should ask this question when touring. For my rising engineering student, universities that told us they keep claim to student patents on inventions created while a student were instantly excluded from consideration.



Patents are easy, and a dime a dozen. There are millions of issued patents, the vast majority of which never made it into products. I have a large number of them, about 2/3rds of which made it to products. Commercialization, without which you will never make any money, is the hard part. It is a pipe dream to think some Fortune 500 will show up with a briefcase full of money for a single patent.

What you should really be asking is whether the school has the support infrastructure to nurture, mentor and build companies. There is seldom ever one single patent that makes a business or breaks it. It is always a family of patents, many of which come as part of the commercialization process, after the school has taken a step back. If they want licensing revenue for that original patent, it will be trivial in contrast to real support for starting a company.
This post was edited on 8/3/25 at 11:33 pm
Posted by Yakker
Baton Rouge
Member since Jul 2025
178 posts
Posted on 8/3/25 at 11:30 pm to
I do eat every other berry when I am picking them.

Could pay for itself.
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