About Agri-OpenCore

Funder Innovate UK, as part of the Defra Farming Innovation Programme (large R&D partnership projects)
Project number 10041179
Duration April 2023 to September 2026 (completed)
Consortium APS Group, University of Lincoln, Dogtooth Technologies, Extend Robotics (see Partners)

The challenge

UK horticulture faced severe labour shortages, linked to Brexit, COVID-19 and changing demographics, which left crops unharvested and put growers under economic pressure. The sector needed technologies that transform labour productivity, but developing a robotic harvesting system for a new farm or crop remained slow and expensive, and much of the core software was out of reach for smaller companies.

What the project set out to do

  1. Create an open development platform for agri-robotic crop harvesting.
  2. Reduce the time and cost of developing robotic harvesting systems for different farms and crops.
  3. Demonstrate trusted, assured and safe operation of robots in farm environments.
  4. Integrate robots with existing farm infrastructure and working practices.
  5. Leave an enduring legacy that accelerates the development of agri-robotic systems for all crops.

How it worked

  • Open ecosystem. Core software and interfaces were built on ROS 2 and released openly, so that robotics companies can adopt them and build their own products on top.
  • Cross-sector collaboration. Growers, robotics companies and university researchers worked together on shared use cases.
  • Simulation first. Digital twins of strawberry, tomato and packhouse settings allowed robots and software to be developed and tested before going to the farm.
  • On-farm testing. Navigation and harvesting systems were trialled on commercial farms in England.
  • Standards and safety. The project worked on standards and risk assessment for the trusted use of robots on farms, including the BSI BS 8646 framework, and on human-aware safety for robots working near people.

Use cases

  • Strawberry harvesting, with the Dogtooth Technologies harvesting robot and the University of Lincoln autonomy stack.
  • Tomato harvesting, developing growing methods and a commercial case for robotic picking of high-wire tomatoes with APS Group and Dogtooth Technologies.
  • Intuitive interfaces for fruit picking, with Extend Robotics, using immersive interfaces to supervise and teach robots.

See the Outcomes page for what was delivered.