AI tools tell farmers when to harvest their crops

Canada's Vivid Machines and UK-based FruitCast use cameras and AI to count fruit and forecast harvest dates. FruitCast claims forecasts within 10% of actual volume one week out and 17% three weeks out. The tech matters most for berries, where the harvest window can be just days.

• Vivid Machines mounts cameras on tractors to detect buds, flowers and fruit
• FruitCast forecasts strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and tomatoes, grapes next year
• FruitCast accuracy: 90% one week out and 83% three weeks out
• Princeton researchers test a millimetre-wave ripeness detector