Tokuiten launches cherry tomato harvest robot for commercial use - Hort News

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Tokuiten launches cherry tomato harvest robot for commercial use - Hort News

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Tokuiten Inc. — a Japanese greenhouse operator — began full-scale commercial use of its suction-type cherry-tomato harvesting robot at its 2,000 m² greenhouse in Aichi Prefecture in 2025, marking one of Japan's first real-world deployments of such technology in ongoing commercial production. The robot harvests approximately 31 kg of cherry tomatoes per day and matches hand-picked quality, operating twice weekly to autonomously collect ripe tomatoes overnight for staff to process the next morning. Per Tokuiten: the robot was developed since 2023 to address Japan's shrinking and aging farming workforce. The system uses AI to detect ripeness and a patented suction method to gently pick fruit without damage, navigating greenhouse rows via rails and Mecanum wheels. The motivation: Japan's agriculture workforce is shrinking and aging, making cherry-tomato harvesting — traditionally labor-intensive and quality-dependent — increasingly difficult to staff. Tokuiten designed the system to match hand-picked quality while operating autonomously overnight. Tokuiten's robot uses a suction mechanism to pick tomatoes without damage — a key quality differentiator vs competing harvesting approaches. The AI ripeness detection and rail navigation system allows the robot to operate twice weekly overnight, collecting ripe tomatoes ready for staff processing the next morning. While many harvesting robots remain in trial stages globally, Tokuiten's rollout signals a move toward practical, everyday agricultural automation in Japan. Operational scale: 2,000 m² greenhouse in Aichi Prefecture; ~31 kg/day cherry tomato harvest; twice-weekly overnight operation; commercial deployment since 2025. The case demonstrates Japan's first generation of commercial cherry-tomato harvesting robots, with potential for scaling to other greenhouses and crops.