Hi-tech Flexpicker eases the load

By Graham Skellern
The robotic arm spies a kiwifruit on the moving lane and lunges, picking up the small, tender fruit and placing it softly in the tray.
The arm, which has a vacuum cup instead of fingers, won't blemish any of the valuable gold kiwifruit - and it packs nearly three times faster than a person.
After being trialled last season, the automated ABB FlexPicker went into commercial production at Seeka Kiwifruit Industries' Transpack Packhouse near Te Puke late last week. The robot was built by Swiss-based engineering multinational ABB but Seeka, in conjunction with Fruit Handling Systems of Hastings, developed the operating methods to integrate it into the production line.
And bingo. The FlexPicker, nicknamed "Billy No Mates" by his co-workers, is the first robotic arm in the world to pack kiwifruit.
The robot, developed six years ago, has traditionally been used in the confectionery industry for picking and packing chocolates and sweets.
Alan Mobley, Seeka's manfacturing engineer, said the FlexPicker made a big difference in packing the single-layer trays.
These trays, which typically contain 30 kiwifruit, make up 45 per cent of the production in the packhouse and are the most time consuming because the pointed gold variety can only be packed one way.
Mr Mobley is aiming to have at least 85 per cent of the single-layer trays packed by the robot.
He said the FlexPicker won't replace people - it just makes the packhouse more efficient and increases the throughput.
Staff can be switched to other lanes and pack more fruit, particularly filling the modular loose packs that take between 30 and 90 kiwifruit.
The robotic arm, which has a reach of 900mm, packs a single-layer tray of 30 kiwifruit in 17 seconds - an experienced person takes 45 seconds to fill the tray.
It can work faster but Mr Mobley is satisfied the robot is operating at a speed that doesn't damage any fruit.
The robot has three arms that are connected to electric servo motors at the top and a soft silicon vacuum cap at the bottom.
It is programmed to track and locate both the empty trays and the kiwifruit as they move single file along the conveyor system into its working space. The robot fills the tray while it's still moving.
Once a kiwifruit is located, the head containing the silicon cup springs quickly into action. Just before the robot touches the fruit the vacuum is switched on, and it won't let go until the fruit is placed in the tray.
The FlexPicker is smart and self-sufficient. "It doesn't need a smoko or lunch break; as long as it has electricity and air, it just keeps going," said Mr Mobley.
That's why the co-workers have nicknamed it "Billy No Mates". It's got no mates and it has no one to talk to. The robot is on its own in a busy, crowded kiwifruit packhouse.
Based on the success of the new technology Billy may gain three robotic friends in the near future.