Bérénice Magistretti for VentureBeat:  Picking apples may seem like a fun weekend activity, but it’s actually backbreaking manual labor. Abundant Robotics wants to help agricultural growers shoulder this task and today announced funding of $10 million, led by GV, to commercialize its apple-picking robot.

Picking apples may seem like a fun weekend activity, but it’s actually backbreaking manual labor. Abundant Robotics wants to help agricultural growers shoulder this task and today announced funding of $10 million, led by GV, to commercialize its apple-picking robot.

Apple growers generate about $50 billion in revenue globally, yet the apple picking process hasn’t undergone any significant change in the last 100 years, says Abundant Robotic’s cofounder and CEO, Dan Steere. “Today, agricultural workers pick apples wearing a bag with shoulder straps that can weigh between 45 to 60 pounds,” he told VentureBeat in an interview. “And the labor pool of folks that are willing to do this work is shrinking.”  Full Article: