Reviewed by Lexie CornerApr 18 2025
A study published in Computers and Electronics in Agriculture details an algorithm developed by Assistant Professor Takuya Fujinaga of Osaka Metropolitan University. The algorithm allows robots to operate autonomously in two modes: navigating to a predetermined location and driving alongside raised cultivation beds.
Hand-picking a strawberry. A farm robot using lidar shows it can harvest strawberries from a high-bed cultivation field. Image Credit: Osaka Metropolitan University
Strawberry fields will continue to be essential for strawberry production, but the labor force required for harvesting may continue to decrease. While elevated, high-bed cultivation reduces the amount of manual labor required, the need for robots to harvest strawberries, tomatoes, and other produce remains clear.
Lidar technology, available on some high-end smartphones and used in self-driving cars, employs laser pulses to detect objects remotely. This allows the farming robot to navigate effectively while maintaining a consistent distance from the crop bed. Its performance has been tested in both virtual and real-world conditions.
If robots can move around the farm more precisely, the range of tasks that they can perform automatically will expand, not only for harvesting, but also for monitoring for disease and pruning. My research shows a possibility, and once this type of agricultural robot becomes more practical to use, it will make a significant contribution to improving work efficiency and reducing labor, especially for high-bed cultivation.
Takuya Fujinaga, Assistant Professor, Osaka Metropolitan University
Ozawa and Yoshikawa Memorial Electronics Research Foundation funded the study.
Journal Reference:
Fujinaga, T. (2025) Autonomous navigation method for agricultural robots in high-bed cultivation environments. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture. doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2025.110001