Trimbot uses the latest technology to take the hard work out of horticultural tasks.
Scientists have created a green-fingered robot that can prune roses and trim bushes, making light work of gardening chores.
Trimbot uses mapping technology to find its way around the garden and performs horticultural tasks with its advanced cutting tools.
Developers fitted five pairs of cameras and a flexible robotic arm to an automated lawnmower, made by electronics company Bosch.
They created algorithms that enable the robot to compare overgrown bushes with ideal final shapes as it trims, and it can prune roses by pinpointing the exact part of each plant’s stem that should be cut.
The team behind the Trimbot project, co-ordinated by University of Edinburgh researchers, said prototypes could be used to maintain communal green spaces, support farmers and help people with mobility issues tend their gardens.
Professor Bob Fisher, from the university’s School of Informatics, said: “Getting the robot to work reliably in a real garden was a major feat of engineering.
“The eight partner teams developed new robotics and 3D computer vision technology to enable it to work outdoors in changing lighting and environmental conditions.”
The four-year project was funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme and involved scientists from Bosch and universities in the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland.
NEW YORK (AP) — The Athletics had the highest success rate using the robot-umpire system to overturn ball/strike calls during the first 10 days of spring training, winning 69.2% of challenges as teams prepared for its regular-season debut March 25.
San Francisco was second at 66.7%, followed by Cincinnati, Miami and San Diego at 61.9% each, Major League Baseball said Monday.
The World Series champion Dodgers had the lowest rate, winning 21.4% of appeals to the Automated Ball-Strike System. Baltimore was at 25%, the New York Mets at 35.3% and Texas at 38.1%.
MLB's overall success rate was 51.3%, with an average of 2.3 challenges per game.
The New York Yankees averaged the most challenges at 3.8 per game, winning 52.6%. Minnesota was second at 3.6 (winning 58.3%), followed by Boston at 3.2 (55.2%) and Colorado (55.6%) and San Francisco at 3.0.
Baltimore averaged the fewest challenges at 1.2. The Dodgers were at 1.4 and Detroit was at 1.5 (46.7%).
MLB experimented with ABS during spring training last year and teams won 52.2% of their ball/strike challenges (617 of 1,182). MLB began testing in the minor leagues in 2019.
Each team has the ability to challenge two calls per game. A team retains its challenge if successful, similar to the regulations for big league teams with video reviews, which were first used for home run calls in August 2008 and widely expanded to many calls for the 2014 season.
A team out of challenges for a game tied after nine innings would get one additional challenge in each extra inning.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
FILE - A Trackman device used for the Automated Ball/Strike System is posted on the balcony behind home plate before a spring training baseball game between the Kansas City Royals and the Los Angeles Dodgers, Feb. 22, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, File)
FILE - The Automated Ball/Strike System plays on the scoreboard after a pitch call was challenged during the first inning of a spring training baseball game between the Chicago White Sox and the San Diego Padres, Feb. 26, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
