NIFA’s Fiscal Year 2013 awards include: Washington State University, Pullman, Wash., $548,735. This project will develop robotic technology for tree fruit harvesting. USDA Grants Support Federal Partnership for Robotics Research WASHINGTON, October 25, 2013 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) today announced $4.5 million in grants to spur the development and use of robots in American agriculture production. The five grants are part of the National Robotics Initiative (NRI), a federal research partnership that includes NIFA, the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). “We have seen tremendous advancement in robotic technology over the past five years – advancements now make it possible for robots and humans to work together collaboratively,” said Sonny Ramaswamy, NIFA director. “As agriculture is a labor-intensive industry, these new technologies have the potential to make the process more efficient, saving producers time and money, which ultimately benefit consumers.” Projects are expected to engage with industry and academia to identify research needs and provide training for the next generation of scientists, engineers and technologists.