Cambridge-based company Autopickr, together with Coopers Croft Vineyard and WineGB, have been awarded over £475,000 in government funding for a pioneering robotics project.

Autopickr, known for their autonomous robots for agricultural use, are leading the project which is being supported by Innovate UK and the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) through the Farming Innovation Programme. Having recently been the recipient of the Innovation in Agriculture award at the 2024 Robotics and Automation awards, Autopickr is now developing a new robot, aptly named ‘Vinny’, which will be capable of performing multiple key vineyard tasks.

Working alongside Coopers Croft Vineyard in Suffolk and trade association WineGB, the project aims to create a sophisticated robot that can mimic hand-picking as well as assisting with green harvesting and canopy management.

Autopickr has also developed an automated asparagus harvester, which won a Cofinitive #21toWatch award for agritech this year and is due to have its second trial season within the next year. This technology will be adapted and further advanced to create a solution that can be used in vineyards. The robot can travel up/down slopes, operate at fruit zone height, and through a unique artificial vision system, distinguish between unripe and ripe grapes, picking whole bunches once they are ready.

This year, vineyards in the UK surpassed the 1,000 milestone for the first time, now totalling 1,033. The area under vine now stands at 4,209 hectares, according to government data, representing a growth rate of 123 percent in a decade.

Once developed, the robot will be available to both purchase and rent.