Robotics and automation face several challenges in agriculture due to the high variability of products, task complexity, crop quality requirement, and dense vegetation. Such a set of challenges demands a more versatile and safe robotic system. Soft robotics is a new yet promising field of research aimed at enhancing current rigid robots, making it a good potential solution for these challenges. In this chapter, we review a potential group of soft grippers used for handling and harvesting crops and their suitability for agriculture, including challenges such as safety in handling and adaptability to different crops. The review aims to show why and to what extent soft grippers have been successful in handling agricultural tasks. This analysis provides a framework for future, systematic design of soft robots for a range of agricultural tasks.

Ali Leylavi Shoushtari, Wageningen University & Research and Wageningen Robotics, The Netherlands

• 1 Introduction
• 2 Challenges of action in agricultural robotics
• 3 How soft robotics can address challenges of action
• 4 Developing an assessment matrix for soft grippers
• 5 Performance analysis of current soft agri-food grippers
• 6 Performance analysis: dealing with object variations
• 7 Designing the ideal versatile gripper
• 8 Case study: the use of soft robotics in intercropping
• 9 Conclusion
• 10 Where to look for further information
• 11 References