Conveyor belt and tray in background.
Cherries travel up conveyor belt and roll down tray to packing box.
Most kids would love to operate the prototype cherry harvester developed by Agricultural Research Service engineer Donald L. Peterson. It propels itself through a live orchard while the operator uses joy sticks to extend and retract a mechanical arm that shakes sweet cherries loose from their branches and drops them on a soft catching surface draped over rollers. The rollers gently push the cherries onto a conveyor belt. There, the cherries ride under a fan that blows away unwanted leaves before they roll into a packing box. It's better than a video game.