Dried persimmons called "Ichida-gaki" are a local specialty of an area in the central Japanese prefecture of Nagano. Engineers have developed a device to help ease the workload of farmers in the production process.

The project has brought together a local agricultural cooperative and a team from the University of Tokyo. They created a robotic arm that's designed to set the persimmons on a peeling machine.

There's already a machine that can peel the fruit, but humans currently have to place the persimmons on it. It's a tough task for the workers, who have to maintain the same posture for long periods.

The robotic arm is equipped with an AI system and four cameras. It checks the size and location of each persimmon on a conveyor belt, and sets them onto the saucers of the peeling machine.

The developers plan to test the new device at a processing facility. They say many workers in the industry are aging, and they hope to ease their burden by mechanizing the entire peeling process.