UK strawberry-harvesting robots receive national research award

The University of Essex has received a national award for a robotics system designed to automate strawberry harvesting, highlighting ongoing efforts to apply artificial intelligence in agriculture.

The university’s Sustainable sArt mRobotic Agriculture (SARA) initiative was named Best Research Project (Industry Collaboration) at the 2026 UKRI AI & Robotics Research Awards, recognizing joint work between academic researchers and industry partners.

The system, introduced in October 2024, is designed to pick, weigh and package strawberries using artificial intelligence. It has been deployed at Wilkin & Sons in Tiptree, near Colchester, and at JEPCO, which operates a farm in Thorrington.

The project is led by Professor Klaus McDonald-Maier and Dr Vishwanathan Mohan, in collaboration with industry partners including Wilkin & Sons, JEPCO and GyroPlant. According to the award citation, the research focuses on the use of robotics and AI to address labor availability, food production and environmental constraints.

The system is being used to support harvesting operations in strawberry production, a segment of horticulture that has faced persistent labor shortages in the UK and other developed markets.

The project has also led to the creation of a spinout company, Versatile RobotX, established to commercialize the technology.

The SARA initiative previously received recognition at the same awards in 2025 in the demonstration category. The latest award comes as governments and industry groups increase funding and pilot programs aimed at expanding the use of robotics in agriculture.