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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Environment
Michael Sainato

Grapes, berries and robots: is Silicon Valley coming for farm workers jobs?

Farm workers labor in a strawberry field.
The ag-tech revolution has accelerated in recent years, resulting in robots that are capable of picking strawberries with 95% accuracy. Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images

The robots have arrived in California’s fields. This summer, a self-driving tractor was spotted working rows of vines in Napa valley. Described as resembling a “souped-up golf cart”, the tractor runs on an electric battery and can be operated remotely with an app.

Farther south, strawberry harvesting robots have been picking fruit. Complete with wheels, clipper-tipped arms and a catchment tray, its maker claims the machine can pick almost as many berries as a human with 95% accuracy.

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