TITLE:
Perceptions and Acceptance of Robotic Apple Harvesting
AUTHORS:
Haihui Yan
KEYWORDS:
Robotic Apple Harvester, Consumer Perceptions, SPSS, Agricultural Robotics
JOURNAL NAME:
Intelligent Information Management,
Vol.18 No.6,
November
9,
2026
ABSTRACT: Apples are a significant dietary staple in the world, and with the global population expected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050, which represents a 25.7% increase from 2020, the agricultural sector faces a massive surge in demand. This growth creates an urgent need to develop new systems that can harvest apples effectively while maintaining sustainable farming practices. Traditional apple harvesting relies heavily on manual methods that are not only labour-intensive but also pose significant risks to the musculoskeletal health of human fruit pickers. The repetitive nature of the task and the physical strain involved make traditional picking an increasingly unsustainable practice. Therefore, an automated and more efficient harvesting solution is envisioned as a necessary requirement to address the evolving societal and ethical demands. Before developing such technical systems, it is imperative to understand the consumer needs and acceptance of harvesting apples using systems such as robots. This research aims to understand the public perception of robotic apple harvesting, including an investigation of nine distinct scenarios. The research considers both the advantages and the potential societal risks associated with technologies available today and those expected to emerge in the near future. A questionnaire has been designed to incorporate all the possible considerations to capture sufficient data for analysis. By collecting data from a population of 240 samples using questionnaires and conducting statistical analysis, the study shows that consumers care significantly about the size and colour of apples as an indication of quality. The majority of consumers have no preference for or welcome robotic harvesting and tend to believe the harvested quality is better.