22:15, 08 November 2025

Russia Is Sending a Team of Robots to Pick Berries

A new multi-agent system replaces human labor with a coordinated team of scouting, harvesting, and transport robots.

Researchers at Perm Polytechnic University have developed a revolutionary robotic system for berry harvesting that distributes tasks among a team of specialized machines instead of relying on a single, complex robot. The innovation aims to automate one of the most labor-intensive agricultural processes, addressing the growing shortage of seasonal workers.

Each summer, the demand for strawberries, blueberries, and other berries exposes a serious bottleneck in farming: manual picking drives up costs and retail prices. In 2025 alone, Russia required around 50,000 seasonal workers for the harvest. Existing machines and drones often miss berries hidden under leaves or operate inefficiently, leaving sections of fields unpicked.

“The idea of a single robot that can search, pick, and transport berries at once is technically complex and economically inefficient,” explained Anton Posyagin, associate professor at the university’s Department of Automation and Telemechanics. “Such machines are usually too heavy, compact the soil, and consume too much energy. Our approach distributes these functions among three types of automated assistants: compact scouts detect ripe berries, manipulator robots carefully harvest them, and bunker agents handle transportation. This setup allows all operations to run in parallel, greatly increasing overall productivity.”

For a field of up to five hectares, the optimal lineup includes five or six scouts, two or three pickers, and one or two transporters, ensuring full coverage and continuous workflow.

Centralized Coordination

At the heart of the system is a central control platform that coordinates all robotic actions. A main computer builds a shared map of the terrain, plans optimal routes, and issues commands over a secure radio network.

Field tests of the prototype have already confirmed the system’s advantages. Researchers have built a working scout robot—a compact tracked vehicle equipped with navigation sensors.

“We’re now integrating a computer vision system for identifying ripe berries and developing dedicated manipulators for gentle harvesting, along with transport agents for delivery,” Posyagin added.

The project represents a major step in Russia’s agricultural digital transformation, showing how robotics can tackle one of the toughest challenges in farming. By automating berry picking through intelligent teamwork, the system could boost yields, reduce costs, and make fresh produce more affordable worldwide—while redefining what fieldwork looks like in the era of smart farming.

Agricultural industry