How Robot Arms Are Learning to Gut and Bone Fish

Episode 111 of The Robotics Business: Lucas and Luna explore a breakthrough in food processing robotics — how a Japanese startup has taught a robot arm to gut and bone a mackerel in under 30 seconds. They walk through the technical challenge of handling deformable, slippery, irregular fish bodies, the sensor fusion that makes it possible (3D vision, force-torque sensing, and a novel gripper design), and the business case: labor shortages in seafood processing plants, where turnover exceeds 50 percent annually. Lucas cites a 2023 pilot at a Tsukiji-adjacent facility that cut labor costs by 40 percent while matching human yield rates. Luna asks whether the same approach could scale to chicken deboning or vegetable trimming — and what that means for factory jobs. A concrete look at how robotics is finally cracking one of the hardest manipulation problems in manufacturing. #Robotics #FoodProcessing #FishBoning #Automation #SeafoodIndustry #RobotArm #Manufacturing #LaborShortage #Japan #Tsukiji #SensorFusion #3DVision #ForceTorqueSensing #GripperDesign #IndustrialRobots #Business #Technology #FexingoBusiness Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo