Fieldwork Robotics

A Cambridge-based spin-out from the University of Plymouth that develops multi-armed robots for harvesting raspberries and other soft fruit.

About Fieldwork Robotics

Fieldwork Robotics develops robots that pick soft fruit, starting with raspberries. Raspberries are very delicate and grow on bushes with tangled leaves, which makes them one of the hardest crops to harvest by machine. The company's robot uses several arms, 3D cameras, sensors and machine learning to find fruit, judge whether it is ripe enough to meet supermarket standards, and pick it by applying pressure to the stem rather than the berry. Its newest machine, Fieldworker 1, has four arms and is described in a 2026 article as part of a plan to offer harvesting capacity, maintenance and crop data as a service, with one operator looking after several robots.

The company is a spin-out from the University of Plymouth, created to bring to market the research of Dr Martin Stoelen, who leads the university's soft and adaptive robotics work. The University of Plymouth says the company was launched in 2016. The mission, in the company's chief executive Rui Andres's words, is: "Our purpose has always been to help growers harvest everything they produce." He has also said that the UK alone faces a shortage of around 90,000 harvesters. The stated approach is to build autonomous robots that work alongside human workers, fill gaps in the workforce and reduce waste.

The University of Plymouth describes Fieldwork as based in Cambridge, UK. The robots have been tested on farms in the UK, starting with the Hall Hunter Partnership in West Sussex in 2019, and a 2026 article names Place UK and Littywood Farm as trial sites for a two-year programme. The company has also worked on commercial deployments in Portugal and with partners including Bosch UK, whose engineers helped to improve the soft robotic arms, and the food company Bonduelle. Fieldwork Robotics Limited is registered at Companies House with number 10432153.

Information about the culture inside the company is limited. The public sources describe a small engineering team working closely with farms and with university researchers: for example, the 2019 trials were set up so the data could guide improvements before further field tests. Dr Stoelen said the team is "focused on improvements to the technology and reducing cost". These are the company's own statements, not independent reviews.

Roles at a company like this include robotics and mechanical engineers, computer vision and machine learning engineers, control and software engineers, field technicians who run trials on farms, and business and customer staff. A background in engineering, computer science, mathematics or physics is the usual route in, though horticulture and agriculture knowledge is valuable too. Because the company works with a university, research and engineering skills sit side by side.

What they do

• {'desc': 'A multi-armed robot with 3D cameras and machine learning that picks ripe raspberries.', 'title': 'Raspberry harvesting robot'}
• {'desc': 'A four-arm harvesting robot designed for managed fleets on UK farms.', 'title': 'Fieldworker 1'}
• {'desc': 'A plan to provide harvesting capacity, maintenance and data rather than only selling machines.', 'title': 'Harvesting as a service'}

Key facts

• University of Plymouth spin-out; based in Cambridge, UK; launched 2016 to commercialise Dr Martin Stoelen's research
• Fieldwork Robotics Limited, Companies House number 10432153
• First field trials in May 2019 at Hall Hunter Partnership, West Sussex
• Two-year UK farm programme with Place UK and Littywood Farm, with multi-robot deployments targeted for 2027 (2026 article)

Website: www.fieldworkrobotics.com