Category: Blog

Dogtooth is thrilled to be featured in Interesting Engineering‘s recent documentary alongside other innovators pioneering the use of new kinds of robots in agriculture. With a shortage of skilled harvest labour, the global horticultural industry faces unique challenges. Growers are adopting new technologies to ensure crops are harvested efficiently and Dogtooth’s robots are at the forefront, helping to create a more sustainable and resilient future for farming. Dogtooth is now selling its fifth generation robots to growers around the world. If you’re interested in robotic harvesting on your farm, we’d love to talk to you.

Earlier this year, Dogtooth’s Software CTO Anders Johansson Associate Professor in Engineering Mathematics at Bristol University very much enjoyed working with Bristol Engineering student, Ben Winstanley. Ben used a state-of-the-art computer vision approach to create detailed 3D models of complex plant geometry.

This ability is central to our robot’s ability to pick delicate berry fruits without damage to other parts of the plant. Rather than grasping the body of the fruit, our robots work by gripping and cutting their stalks – an approach that helps to minimize cross contamination and bruising (and that Dogtooth has patented worldwide). For the robot to position its cut/grip end effector with sufficient precision, it must form detailed and accurate 3D models in real time.

You will want to turn the sound up on this video!

It is the sound of a team of our fourth generation robots picking overnight in an otherwise deserted glasshouse. These robots have been operated for 16 hours a day throughout 2024 – including at night, when cooler conditions can sometimes help to prolong the shelf life of picked fruit. Now our next generation “Gen5”  robots are capable of being used for up to 24 hours a day. Not only does this increase their productive output, but the flexibility of operating robots for one, two, or three eight-hour shifts helps our customers to cope with the peaks and troughs of production.

We are thrilled to welcome three outstanding new members to our team: Patrick Wiltshire, Alex Wheatley and Daniel Rutterford.

Patrick joins our Hardware team as Mechanical Design Engineer, bringing with him extensive experience in developing equipment for the construction and events industries. His passion for developing new and exciting products makes him a valuable asset as we continue to innovate and grow. Outside of work, Patrick enjoys driving (or fixing!) classic cars.

Alex, our new Standards and Compliance Engineer, comes to us with a strong background in quality assurance and regulatory compliance. His expertise in managing compliance processes for new high-tech products aligns perfectly with our commitment to delivering high-quality products. Alex is a passionate fan of live music and is also an enthusiastic table-top and miniatures gamer, fond of Euro-games and deck building.

Joining us as Manufacturing Engineer, Daniel Rutterford brings a wealth of knowledge from over 11 years of experience working in manufacturing and testing laboratories. His insights into process optimisation and cycle time reduction will undoubtedly help drive our efforts for continuous improvement. When not at work, Daniel enjoys cooking, home brewing, and spending time outdoors exploring with his partner and son.

Welcome aboard!

A few of our robots were lucky enough to co-star in Rick Stein’s Food Stories on BBC Two this evening – alongside Sir James Dyson himself. Rick Stein and Sir James have both thought very deeply on the subject of sustainable food production – and by developing state-of-the-art fruit harvesting robots alongside inspiring and innovative customers such as Dyson Farming and Hugh Lowe Farms, Dogtooth is delighted to be doing its part to improve the sustainability and security of UK food production.

If you have access to BBC iPlayer (UK TV license payers only), you can watch the episode here.

Last week, James Dyson spoke to Sarah Rainey of the Daily Mail ahead of her visit to th Dyson Farming glasshouse in Lincolnshire, where – with the aid of 20 of Dogtooth’s strawberry harvesting robots – the team are working hard to produce British grown strawberries at Christmas.

Read the full article here.