Wauwiler Champignons AG using AI device to boost mushroom harvests
Wauwil/Riex - Wauwiler Champignons AG is using devices powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) developed by MycoSense to highlight mushrooms that are ready to be harvested. In this way, the harvesting process can be sped up and higher yields can be secured.
According to an article published by the German-language Swiss daily newspaper «Luzerner Zeitung», Wauwiler Champignons AG has been using the AI-assisted Spotlight device to assist with mushroom harvesting for over a year now. The device, developed and distributed by the start-up MycoSense, which is based in Riex in the canton of Vaud, identifies mushrooms that are ready to be picked and then illuminates them using light spots. This significantly accelerates the harvesting process and leads to higher yields. Furthermore, mushroom pickers can be trained and brought up to speed far more quickly.
The device is fitted with a 3D scanner that is attached to a mobile frame. The AI is able to quickly identify which mushrooms are the right size and are therefore ripe enough to be picked. According to the information, the thickness of the stem and the shape of the cap, among other aspects, are factors used to determine this.
«The device has 12 different programs that pickers must select depending on the picking pattern or the arrangement of the mushrooms», as Roland Vonarburg, Managing Director of Wauwiler Champignons AG, explains in the article. The Spotlight device allows pickers to focus on the correct picking technique, which is said to facilitate an increase in yields by around 30 percent. In this way, the shortage of skilled workers can also be counteracted.
According to the article, Wauwiler Champignons AG is one of the four co-founders and shareholders to have played a part in the development from scratch of the Spotlight device. It also tested the device and has already invested half a million Swiss francs in the development process and in purchases. In total, 400 devices are in use around the world at the moment. The next development steps will reportedly involve Spotlight being able to select the program to be used independently and providing feedback when the wrong mushrooms have been picked.
