University of Warwick tackles labor shortages and soil degradation, prototyping the UK’s first autonomous spring onion harvesting robot

January 1, 2025

Client Snapshot

Industry: Academia
Locations: Coventry, England

Warwick Crop Centre is part of the University’s School of Life Sciences and is an internationally recognized centre for translational research in sustainable agriculture and horticulture and in food security. The School of Life Sciences was ranked second in the UK for Agriculture, Food and Veterinary research in the Government’s 2014 “Research Excellence Framework”.

The challenge

UK vegetable farms are experiencing a sharp labor shortage and rising soil degradation due to traditional heavy machinery. With Brexit reducing the seasonal labor force by over 30%, small- to mid-sized farms like those operated by G’s Fresh, one of Europe’s leading family-owned fresh product company’s, faced unharvested crops, economic losses, and long-term environmental risks. There was no affordable or autonomous solution on the market to address these problems—especially for delicate allium crops like spring onions.

The solution

The Warwick team developed a prototype for an autonomous spring onion harvesting robot using the Amiga Developer Bundle. Using the lightweight, modular Amiga as a base, the team built a precision gripper arm and sorting mechanism tailored to spring onions, integrating AI-driven navigation, soil-friendly design, and custom end-effectors for minimal crop damage and maximum yield.

The results

Multidisciplinary Collaboration: Students from mechanical, electrical, and computer science programs integrated autonomous systems for a real-world agricultural application.
Industry Partnership: Close collaboration with G’s Fresh enabled on-farm data collection and iterative testing, aligning academic work with real industry needs.
Validated Technical Research: The gripper system achieved 100% autonomous activation and 92% gripping success, confirming the viability of student-led hardware innovation.
Affordable, Replicable R&D Platform: The £22K prototype, built on the Farm-ng Amiga, offers a scalable model for future university research in AgTech.

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“Using the Amiga Developer Bundle allowed us to skip months of platform development and go straight into solving real-world harvesting problems.”

Warwick Team Member, Mechanical Engineering Student

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“As a UK based farmer, I am facing increasing difficulties due to an ageing workforce and a shortage of seasonal labour. While automation could be a solution, most advanced machinery is simply too expensive for small and independent farmers like me. If an affordable robotic harvester were available, it would allow me to maximise yield and reduce waste.”

Ed Lea, Farm Operations Manager, G’s Fresh

How they did it

The Warwick Harvest team brought together eight fourth-year mechanical, electrical, and computer science students and a multidisciplinary faculty at the University of Warwick to solve a specific agricultural pain point: spring onion harvesting. With support from G’s Fresh, the team began by collecting primary farm data—crop spacing, harvesting force, and environmental conditions—before designing a fully modular harvesting system on the Amiga platform.

The student-built system integrated a custom aluminum chassis, five independently operating grippers, a sorting mechanism, and a vertical lift system. All components were rigorously tested for accuracy and minimal crop damage. Despite limited field access in the off-season, the team achieved critical milestones, including a functioning AI-powered harvesting workflow and a promising gripper test suite.

Their work garnered attention from UK Parliament, Dyson Farming Research, and DEFRA, laying the groundwork for expanded applications to other crops like carrots and onions. The project has plans for expansion, carrying forward lessons learned for further development, commercialization, and field validation.