A company in British Columbia is working on the cutting edge of technological design. Salmon Arms Technology Brewing Corporation has just been awarded $50,000 from B.C.s Agritech Innovation Challenge for its development of a vision-guided robot capable of accurately picking, trimming and placing mushrooms in store-ready boxes.

"Im often (asked) arent you worried about taking peoples jobs? Everything that weve automatized people dont want to do," Technology Brewing founder Mike Boudreau said. Boudreau built his first robot in 1985 and launched Technology Brewing in 1999 transitioning the company into robotics in 2006. As someone on the frontline of the robotic world, Boudreau explains the industry, and it isnt quite what one would expect. The jobs the companys robots have been designed to do are far less glamorous than the robots themselves.

See, identify and pick 
As mushrooms come in different shapes and sizes, and at some stages of their growth double in size in just 24 hours, Boudreaus company is developing a robot that can see the mushrooms, identify which ones to pick and which to leave. If it sounds complex and expensive its because it is.

"By the time weve developed a complete system... well have spent several million dollars," Boudreau said. "These are jobs that people dont want to do, thats why theres a demand for the robots in the first place.”

Boudreau said the sheer expense involved with the technology means industries that cant find labour - like mushroom pickers - will look towards automation, and these are the robots that will be developed. "Its not just the companies saying we want to reduce labour costs its the companies saying Yes, Id like to reduce labour costs because I cant hire people to reliably show-up and do the job.”

For the time being these may be the jobs that robots take away from society, but Boudreau believes that, in the future, every job will be affected by automation.