About

Yael Edan is a pioneering researcher in agricultural robotics, whose work has fundamentally shaped how autonomous systems are designed and deployed in farming environments. Based at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, her research spans robotic harvesting, computer vision for agriculture, human-robot interaction, and intelligent sensing and planning systems. Edan's contributions span more than three decades, from her early 1991 work on near-minimum-time task planning for fruit-picking robots to landmark reviews on harvesting robot state-of-the-art that have collectively garnered over 870 citations. Her 2014 review on harvesting robots for high-value crops (643 citations) remains a cornerstone reference in the field, while her leadership in developing SWEEPER — a fully operational sweet pepper harvesting robot — demonstrates her ability to translate research into real-world agricultural solutions, earning over 430 citations since 2020. Beyond hardware and perception systems, Edan has championed human-robot collaboration as a critical bridge between current limitations and fully autonomous agricultural systems, exploring usability, teleoperation interfaces, and collaborative target recognition. Her 2022 roadmap on human-robot collaboration in agriculture signals her continued influence in shaping the field's future. With thousands of citations across her portfolio, Edan stands as one of the most impactful voices in agricultural robotics globally.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

34
H-Index
133
Papers
4,208
Total Citations
32
Avg Citations/Paper
🏆 Most Cited Paper
Harvesting Robots for High‐value Crops: State‐of‐the‐art Review and Challenges Ahead
643 citations · 2014
📈 Most Prolific Year: 2022 (10 Papers)
🤝 Key Collaborators: 172
🏛 Institutions: Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Agricultural Research Organization, Purdue University West Lafayette

Top Papers

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    Robotic melon harvesting
    142 citations · 2000
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Key Collaborators

Contact & Links

Available for collaboration
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