Robotic hand better at picking blackberries than people

31 July 2025

Anthony Gunderman, a mechanical engineer, and assistant professor at the University of Arkansas, in the United States, has developed a robotic hand that can harvest blackberries. What’s more, the device might be able to do the job better than people.

Picking blackberries is a precision task. Apply too much pressure while harvesting them, and they’ll get squashed. But too little will see the fruit remain on the plant. That a robot is potentially capable of the undertaking will be a blow to anyone who thought jobs such as fruit picking, which require a certain skill, were immune to automation.

I’m not in favour of people losing work to robots, but possibly a similar technology might be welcome in some fruit-growing regions of Australia. Especially for people harvesting bananas. The bunches weigh a ton, spiders and snakes are omnipresent, too say nothing of the weather conditions.

I don’t know how the fruit-pickers, often backpackers, or travellers, in Australia do such work, but their efforts are greatly appreciated.