Robohub.org
ep.

069

podcast
 

Robots Podcast: Harvest automation with Joe Jones


by
14 January 2011



share this:

In today’s episode we look at a new market in robotics with huge potential, agriculture. With us, Joe Jones, co-founder of Harvest Automation and father of the Roomba.

In addition, you might have noted that we’re starting the new year with an upgrade to our website. Our partner, robots.net, will now provide us with news. You can access each episode’s news items, along with many others, via the website’s new NEWS tab, which replaces the former Forum. We think that this will increase both the quality and accessibility of our news content, and look forward to your comments in the improved comments section under each post.

Joseph Jones

Joe Jones is a robotics visionary with 24 years in the field. As proof, he was the first employee of iRobot, where he invented the Roomba that has sold over 3 million units. He also spent 9 years in robotic research at the MIT AI Lab, authored three books on robotics, and holds 15 patents. Today we have him on our show to talk about Harvest Automation, company that he co-founded with a team of robotics experts and ex-iRobot employees. Tapping into the huge agriculture market, Harvest will start by deploying thousands of robots to nurse potted plants. To give you an idea, here’s a short video.

The nice thing with agriculture robots is that incremental improvements to the robot can open a huge range of new applications. With that in mind, Harvest hopes to eventually deploy robots in real fields, doing all the large-scale dirty work challenging today’s farmers.

Finally, Jones also gives us a glimpse at the market and some of his secrets to bridge the gap between academia and business.

Links:


Latest News:
For the latest news from CES, have a look at our new NEWS tab.



tags: ,


Podcast team The ROBOTS Podcast brings you the latest news and views in robotics through its bi-weekly interviews with leaders in the field.
Podcast team The ROBOTS Podcast brings you the latest news and views in robotics through its bi-weekly interviews with leaders in the field.





Related posts :



Bio-hybrid robots turn food waste into functional machines

  22 Dec 2025
EPFL scientists have integrated discarded crustacean shells into robotic devices, leveraging the strength and flexibility of natural materials for robotic applications.

Robot Talk Episode 138 – Robots in the environment, with Stefano Mintchev

  19 Dec 2025
In the latest episode of the Robot Talk podcast, Claire chatted to Stefano Mintchev from ETH Zürich about robots to explore and monitor the natural environment.

Artificial tendons give muscle-powered robots a boost

  18 Dec 2025
The new design from MIT engineers could pump up many biohybrid builds.

Robot Talk Episode 137 – Getting two-legged robots moving, with Oluwami Dosunmu-Ogunbi

  12 Dec 2025
In the latest episode of the Robot Talk podcast, Claire chatted to Oluwami Dosunmu-Ogunbi from Ohio Northern University about bipedal robots that can walk and even climb stairs.

Radboud chemists are working with companies and robots on the transition from oil-based to bio-based materials

  10 Dec 2025
The search for new materials can be accelerated by using robots and AI models.

Robot Talk Episode 136 – Making driverless vehicles smarter, with Shimon Whiteson

  05 Dec 2025
In the latest episode of the Robot Talk podcast, Claire chatted to Shimon Whiteson from Waymo about machine learning for autonomous vehicles.



 

Robohub is supported by:




Would you like to learn how to tell impactful stories about your robot or AI system?


scicomm
training the next generation of science communicators in robotics & AI


 












©2025.05 - Association for the Understanding of Artificial Intelligence