Banana industry turns to robots and AI for ‘dangerous’ packing-shed task of cutting fruit from stem

It's often top of the list of Australia's most popular fruit, finding its way into lunch boxes and smoothies across the country every day.

But it takes a bit of effort to get bananas from the farm to the fruit bowl, with growers relying on a significant workforce to pick and pack each harvest.

Now scientists are working with industry to develop a prototype robot arm to separate the banana fruit from the stalk, a labour-intensive process known as de-handing.