FingerVision Brings “Gentle Touch” Robotics to Automated Lettuce Harvesting

FingerVision Inc. has unveiled a new robot capable of automatically harvesting leafy greens grown in plant factories—tackling one of the most persistent automation challenges in indoor agriculture. The system was developed in collaboration with PLANTX Corporation, a leader in artificial-light plant factory operations, and represents a milestone in merging advanced tactile sensing with commercial-scale agricultural automation.

Harvesting delicate greens like lettuce is notoriously difficult to automate because each plant varies in size, texture, and fragility. Even in highly mechanized plant factories, cutting, grasping, and transferring leafy produce without damage has remained largely manual.

FingerVision’s solution integrates its university-developed visual-tactile sensor technology into the robot’s gripper, enabling it to “feel” and adjust its grip in real time. If the system detects slippage or instability during cutting or transfer, it automatically modulates force to keep the produce secure—handling it gently, consistently, and without bruising.

The result: reliable automation of one of the final labor-intensive steps in plant-factory operations.

With global demand for indoor farming growing—and labor pressures intensifying—FingerVision’s approach could accelerate the adoption of robotics in agriculture. The company plans to expand deployment both in Japan and internationally, advancing automation across the food production supply chain.