Agricultural robots: using anticipatory approaches to embed appropriate hygienic design of hardware

Purpose With the global challenge of recruiting labour in agriculture, research and industry attention has turned to the development of autonomous harvesting machines (AHMs) to replace or collaborate with, humans. This research explores the concept of appropriate hygienic design of AHMs to reduce hardware-related food safety risk. Design/methodology/approach This iterative structured evidence review utilises the novel approach of applying the AREA principles of responsible innovation (anticipate, reflect engage and act) together with the application of hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) as a reflexive framework to critically assess and critique appropriate hardware-related hygienic design in a particular use case, AHMs for fruit and vegetable harvesting. Findings Selective autonomous harvesting encompasses the AHMs navigating to, detecting and selecting harvest-ready fruits or vegetables, detaching the produce, checking its quality and any visible food safety concerns and then placing the assessed produce into the appropriate container. Good hygienic design is an essential process to ensure hardware-related food safety risk is minimised. The five-step framework developed in this work can support hardware designers to ensure AHMs are appropriately designed, developed and deployed. Originality/value This research contributes through the development of a decision-support tool for appropriate AHM hardware design, development and deployment suitable for industry practitioners, academics and policymakers.