Abstract: A harvesting apparatus for automatically removing fruit from its growth source comprising a harvesting hand mounted at a distal end of an articulated arm assembly, a video camera for picking up a fruit image, and a control unit for guiding the harvesting hand to the fruit in response to information provided by the video camera. The harvesting hand includes a vacuum pad for drawing and catching the fruit, and a calyx cutting device. The vacuum pad and cutting device are movable relative to each other between a first position in which the vacuum pad is disposed forwardly of the cutting device for approaching and drawing the fruit and a second position in which the cutting device is disposed forwardly of the vacuum pad for removing the fruit from its tree.

Abstract: A travelling vehicle equipped with obstacle detector sensors having, at the front of the vehicle body (1), a noncontact-type obstacle detector sensor (A) and a contact-type obstacle detector sensor (B), and a vehicle speed control device (20) adapted to automatically reduce the vehicle speed from a preset vehicle speed (v.sub.)0) to a predetermined vehicle speed (v.sub.1) when the noncontact-type obstacle detector sensor (A) detects an obstacle, adapted to automatically reset the vehicle speed to said preset speed (v.sub.0) when the sensor (A) does not detect the obstacle any more during such speed reduction, and adapted to automatically stop the travelling of the vehicle immediately when the contact-type obstacle detector sensor (B) detects the obstacle.