The British broccoli protein specialist, upp combines AI-harvest automation technology and side stream upcycling to deliver sustainable and nutritious broccoli protein.
Upp’s harvesting equipment uses 3D cameras and machine learning to identify broccoli heads that are ready for harvesting even if they are partially obscured by leaves. A patented tractor-towed tool then cuts and lifts the whole plant onto a trailer where the heads are separated from the leaf and stalk.
upp claims its harvest automation replaces seven seasonal agricultural workers, and can work at night, preventing wastage and increasing yields.
Broccoli protein
After the broccoli heads have been harvested and delivered to market, upp focuses on the 80% of the broccoli plant that would otherwise go to waste. This 80% is left for “uppcycling” into proteins and ingredients.
To support upp’s harvest automation and upcycling technologies, Elbow Beach Capital announced a £500k investment into the Shropshire-based broccoli protein specialist.
Automatic fruit harvesting robot developed in Japan
Field-to-protein pilots
The funding will be used to pilot both upp’s harvest and uppcycling technology this year, with the company aiming to complete three field-to-protein pilots in the UK, Spain and California by the end of 2024. First commercial production of upp’s broccoli protein is expected to commence in late 2024.
According to upp the global plant protein market is currently worth over £30bn and is expected to surpass £130 billion by 2030. upp estimates that once its potential is unlocked, the broccoli-based protein market alone could be worth over £35bn by 2030. upp aims to be generating first revenues in 2024, growing to more than £50 million in revenue in its three pilot markets in 2027.
In February 2021, two students from the Dutch Inholland University of Applied Sciences started their graduate internships for the so-called Smart Farming Broccoli project. They are going to make a design for a detection method and harvesting grabber for broccoli.
Thijs Bouwes, as a fourth year Information Technology student, will be working on the development of an image recognition method for broccoli heads. With this technology, the robot will be able to detect and assess broccoli heads in the field for size and quality, and then make the decision whether to harvest the broccoli.
Stefan Zwagerman, a fourth-year Mechanical Engineering student, is taking on the development of a gripper for harvesting the broccoli heads.
Harvest broccoli selectively or full-field
The Smart Farming Broccoli project is not the first initiative to develop a harvesting robot for broccoli. An inventory by the students shows that the first idea for this came about thirty years ago, but their conclusion is that no machine has been used on a large scale to date. This project investigates the technical feasibility of a machine to harvest broccoli selectively or full-field.
Broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica) is an edible green plant in the cabbage family (family Brassicaceae, genus Brassica) whose large flowering head, stalk and small associated leaves are eaten as a vegetable. Broccoli is classified in the Italica cultivar group of the species Brassica oleracea. Broccoli has large flower heads, usually dark green, arranged in a tree-like structure branching out from a thick stalk which is usually light green. The mass of flower heads is surrounded by leaves. Broccoli resembles cauliflower, which is a different but closely related cultivar group of the same Brassica species. It is eaten either raw or cooked. Broccoli is a particularly rich source of vitamin C and vitamin K. Contents of its characteristic sulfur-containing glucosinolate compounds, isothiocyanates and sulforaphane, are diminished by boiling but are better preserved by steaming, microwaving or stir-frying.
