Packing robot

A robot for packing produce comprising;

• a plurality of pickup locations for the produce, the pickup locations arranged in an array,
• a drop off zone for the produce,
• a plurality of heads, arranged in an array, each head for picking up, holding, and dropping off an item of produce, and
• a controller configured to control movement of the heads,
• wherein the plurality of heads move together as a set in a first direction between the array of pickup locations and the drop off zone, and
• wherein each head is independently moveable in a second direction that is orthogonal to the first direction, and
• wherein each head is capable of independently varying the relative spacing between the plurality of heads in the second direction, and
• wherein each of the plurality of pickup locations further comprises an orientation module for presenting an item of produce in a pickup orientation with respect to at least one feature of the produce, each orientation module comprising:
• at least one orientation sensing camera for detecting and determining the location of the at least one feature, and
• an orientator configured to manipulate the item of produce into the pickup orientation,
• wherein the orientation module is configured to provide an indication to the controller, when the at least one feature is detected by the orientation sensing camera, that an item of produce is nearly ready to be picked up,
• wherein the controller is configured to receive a nearly ready signal based on the indication provided by the orientation module, and
• wherein the controller is configured to determine whether to:
• a) ignore the nearly ready signal and move the heads to the drop off zone before the item of produce becomes ready, or
• b) wait for a nearly ready item to become ready before moving the heads to the drop off zone.