The Next Fruit 4.0

The Next Fruit 4.0 project is working on deepening and broadening technological solutions for the fruit cultivation of tomorrow. Broadening by translating the sensing technology developed for apples to other fruit crops. Deepening by taking the next step in precision spraying technology, sensing and robotisation. The applications developed in this project contribute to making cultivation and the chain more sustainable, maximising yield and minimising costs. The focus is on the pear, but attention will also be paid to applications in apples and red currants.

The project is based on what are known as case studies. These cases are working on:

1-precision spraying in combination with disease and pest detection
2-the development of decision support dashboards
3-a sensor platform
4-data collection in relation to fruit storage life (cooldata)
5-components (such as grippers) for multifunctional robots

Because the implementation of the cases requires different areas of expertise, a substantive contribution is made for each case from six work packages: sensing, management information, robotisation, preconditions, implementation, economic validation and innovation adoption and an innovation circle.

For the entire project, the new technological applications will be subject to explicit attention for the social and economic impact and the conditions for innovation adoption. What makes this project special is the collaboration between a broad consortium of Dutch and American parties and the integral development of technology (sensing, robotisation), data management and management information.