Western roboctics researcher revolutionizes mushroom harvester

Robotic mushroom harvester, operating at Whitecrest Mushrooms Limited, in Putnam, Ont. (Submitted) Ten years ago, local mushroom farmer Murray Good approached engineering professor Mehrdad Kermani with a challenge. Could Kermani and his team develop an autonomous mushroom harvesting robot to address the labour shortage Good and mushroom farmers around the world were facing? Kermani, a world leader in the field of safe human-robot interactions , wasn't sure at first. But with patience, perseverance and "extremely talented, hardworking graduate students," he developed the prototype for what is now the first commercialized robotic harvesting system of its kind. "When we first started the project, we had no specific data or approaches to reference," Kermani said. "We basically started from scratch." Kermani succeeded where several research institutes and private companies worldwide failed, designing a robot that could identify and select ripe mushrooms at a speed and quality comparable to or beyond human harvesters. He also took an innovative approach, developing a system that seamlessly integrates into the existing infrastructure of mushroom farms across North America.