Podcast: The Mycionics robotic harvesting system
Canadian company Mycionics Inc has combined AI with robotics in a challenging horticultural setting which could revolutionise the future of mushroom farming.
Looking for a solution to Canada’s workforce shortage, grower Murray Good took his frustrations to the University of Western Ontario in 2012. Two research theses and a decade of hard work later, Mycioncs Inc has emerged as a fresh mushroom picking and packing system that combines mechanical engineering, robotics, and mushroom picking know-how with artificial intelligence.
In this podcast, MushroomLink spoke to the team behind this globally patented system that picks, packs, and weighs mushrooms to meet fresh market quality and size requirements.
This podcast is part of the Hort Innovation funded project MU21003: Mushroom industry communications programme. It was funded through the Mushroom levy fund and contributions from the Australian Government.
The music for this podcast is "Mushroom Boy" by Qurtis, it is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/?ref=openverse
Additional resources
MushroomLink at the AMGA conference 2022: Jack Lemmen - Efficient harvesting systems part two
While many aspects of mushroom production have been mechanised, with computer-controlled compost production, bulk phase 3 compost, automatic casers and fillers, and many other technical aids, harvesting and packaging is still mostly a manual process.
With many growers in Australia struggling with labour costs and shortages, any technical help to optimise harvesting and packaging is met with great interest.
At the recent AMGA conference, Jack Lemmen from GTL outlined the latest developments using technology to improve the efficiency of human pickers.
In this podcast, Jack talks to MushroomLink’s Dr Jenny Ekman about the technologies available to growers now as well as the future potential of robotic harvesting and packing systems.
This podcast is part of the Hort Innovation funded project MU21003: Mushroom industry communications programme. It was funded through the Mushroom levy fund and contributions from the Australian Government.
Want to see more from the AMGA conference? click here to view presentations and listen to other podcasts.
MushroomLink at the AMGA conference 2022: Roland van Doremaele - Efficient harvesting systems part one
Robotic harvesting in mushrooms has been in development for decades, with earlier harvesters having limited success.
The drawer system from the Christiaens Group in The Netherlands is a fully integrated approach to growing, harvesting, and packing mushrooms.
In this system, the shelves move between growing and harvesting rooms, which has positive implications for pest and disease management, as well as improving harvest efficiency and making the working environment more attractive to pickers.
It would also allow ready incorporation of a robotic harvester, should this technology become viable in the future.
Chatting to MushroomLink’s Dr Jenny Ekman at the AMGA conference, Roland highlights all the benefits of the drawer system and the technologies available to growers now.
This podcast is part of the Hort Innovation funded project MU21003: Mushroom industry communications programme. It was funded through the Mushroom levy fund and contributions from the Australian Government.
Want to see more from the AMGA conference? click here to view presentations and listen to other podcasts.