AgroBot - Strawberry Harvesters

"Agrobot is a robotic machinery prototype for harvesting strawberries made by a Spanish company.
The machine, measuring 2 meters (height) x 7 meters (length) x 2.5 meter (depth) is equipped with 24 arms, whose movements are directed through an optical sensor, which allows a fruit-for-fruit harvest. The sensors allow the robot to make a choice based on parameters such as colour, external quality, size of the fruit, calculating the distance between the picking arm and the strawberry. 
The robotic arm ends in a sort of cup with a crack in the middle, in order to avoid damage to the stem. The strawberries are placed on a conveyor belt placed in front of the machine, where fruit is easily selected and packed by hand. The company which designed the robot, thinks this method allows a less traumatic and more hygienic harvest of fruit." 
via agrobot.com

 

US Farmers and Ranchers Alliance

via fooddialogues.com

As farmers and ranchers, we’ve raised pretty much everything. Except our voices. For too long the voice of farmers and ranchers has often been missing in the conversation about where food in America comes from. That changes now. USFRA is inviting all farmers and ranchers to join us in leading the conversation with Americans. Raise your voice and share your story. Together, we can begin a dialogue with Americans about where their food comes from, the importance of today’s agriculture and our commitment to continuous improvement.

  via usfraonline.org

Portraits of Our Sun on 11/11/11 at 11:11 UTC


The Solar Dynamics Observatory takes images of the Sun about every 10 seconds, so it easily was able to capture the Sun when the clocks and calendars lined up for a mathematically synchronous readout. Below is another image at the same time in different wavelength.

You can check out what the Sun looks like at anytime of the day or year the the SDO website.  

via universetoday.com

The Hyper-Realistic Renderings of Paul Cadden

"India"

 

"The Dream of War"

 

"Scottish Landscapes Part 2"

 

"The Hyperrealism style focuses much more of its emphasis on details and the subjects. Hyper-real paintings and sculptures are not strict interpretations of photographs, nor are they literal illustrations of a particular scene or subject. Instead, they utilize additional, often subtle, pictorial elements to create the illusion of a reality which in fact either does not exist or cannot be seen by the human eye. Furthermore, they may incorporate emotional, social, cultural and political thematic elements as an extension of the painted visual illusion; a distinct departure from the older and considerably more literal school of Photo-realism."    Paul Cadden

"All over the place, from the popular culture to the propaganda system, there is constant pressure to make people feel that they are helpless, that the only role they can have is to ratify decisions and to consume."   Noam Chomsky.

via paulcadden.com

 

Curious Eyes of the "Glass Frog"

"Glass frog is the common name for amphibians belonging to the family Centrolenidae, so named for their translucent abdominal skin. Indigenous to the cloud forests of Central and South America, 13 species of cloud frogs have been identified in Costa Rica. These nocturnal tree-dwelling frogs stay camouflaged during the day on the underside of leaves."

via tywkiwdbi.blogspot.com