As California's labor shortage grows, farmers race to replace workers with robots

SALINAS, Calif. – Driscoll’s is so secretive about its robotic strawberry picker it won’t let photographers within telephoto range of it.

But if you do get a peek, you won’t see anything humanoid or space-aged. AgroBot is still more John Deere than C-3PO — a boxy contraption moving in fits and starts, with its computer-driven sensors, graspers and cutters missing 1 in 3 berries.

http://www.startribune.com/as-california-s-labor-shortage-grows-farmers-race-to-replace-workers-with-robots/437283393/