Place UK, based at Tunstead, near North Walsham, is hosting the trial in partnership with Fieldwork Robotics, which is developing "the world’s first autonomous raspberry harvesting robot".

The "Fieldworker 1" is powered by AI-enhanced technology that allows it to detect berry ripeness more accurately than previous models. The company says the machine can gently gather the fragile fruit at the same speed and quality as human pickers.

Norfolk fruit grower Place UK is working with Fieldwork Robotics to trial a pioneering new raspberry-picking robot (Image: Fieldwork Robotics) And against a backdrop of steeply-rising labour costs and mounting difficulties in recruiting seasonal workers, it is hoped machines like this could reduce commercial fruit growers' reliance on manual labour - as well as reducing wastage and improving production efficiencies.

Dan Yordanov is head of fresh at Place UK, which harvests around 400 tonnes of raspberries each year, from May to November.

He said: "

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