Our country's Kiwifruit pickers may soon have a robotic friend to help them out.

Waikato University engineers have developed an e-bin which rolls alongside workers.

They can drop the fruit into the bin, where it will be safely caught and stored in a net, instead of having to lug heavy bags on their backs.

Waikato University Engineering Lecturer Nick Pickering says it will make the job more accessible.

He says it shows the utility of robots in the workforce.

Pickering says it shows we don't have to fully automate jobs away.

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