Dynamics Modelling and Control of a Strawberry Harvesting Robot (original) (raw)

Design optimization and trajectory planning of a strawberry harvesting manipulator

Bulletin of Electrical Engineering and Informatics, 2024

This paper presents a systematic approach to optimizing the structural parameters of a 4-degree-of-freedom (DoF) strawberry harvesting manipulator to minimize its workspace. Unlike previous research that primarily concentrated on the spatial needs related to fruit distribution areas, this work addresses the spatial dynamics of different stages of the fruitpicking process. This is achieved by combining the workspace model method, mathematical modeling, and the GlobalSearch algorithm in the optimization process. A comprehensive verification was conducted using the Denavit-Hartenberg method to simulate the workspace of the optimal manipulator structure. This ensured that the manipulator effectively covered the entire harvesting space. The research design involves exploring an optimal trajectory planning method by adopting a modified sine jerk profile that minimizes overall trajectory duration while maintaining good smoothness. The effectiveness of this method is demonstrated through a simulation of the trajectory of the four joints to drive the end effector from the initial position to the position of the strawberry. This approach yields execution times up to 27% shorter than in previous studies. The proposed method is useful for optimizing the physical and trajectory design of the harvesting manipulator that operates in confined and restricted environments to enhance efficiency, adaptability, and safety in harvesting operations

The Concept of the Constructional Solution of the Working Section of a Robot for Harvesting Strawberries †

2021

Strawberry fruits are products of high commercial and consumption value, and, at the same time, they are difficult to harvest due to their very low mechanical strength and difficulties in identifying them within the bush. Therefore, robots collecting strawberries should be equipped with four subsystems: a video object detection system, a collecting arm, a unit for the reception and possible packaging of the fruit, and a traction system unit. This paper presents a concept for the design and operation of the working section of a harvester for strawberry fruit crops grown in rows or beds, in open fields, and/or under cover. In principle, the working section of the combine should meet parameters comparable with those of manually harvested strawberries (efficiency, quality of harvested fruit) and minimise contamination in the harvested product. In order to meet these requirements, in the presented design concept, it was assumed that these activities would be performed during harvesting w...

Development of an Experimental Strawberry Harvesting Robotic System

Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics

This paper presents the development of an integrated strawberry harvesting robotic system tested in lab conditions in order to contribute to the automation of strawberry harvesting. The developed system consists of three main subsystems; the vision system, the manipulator and the gripper. The procedure for the strawberry identification and localization based on vision is presented in detail. The performance of the robotic system is assessed by the results of experiments that take place in the lab and they are related to the recognition of occluded strawberries, the check of the strawberries for possible bruises after the grasping and the accuracy of detection of the strawberries' location. The results show that the developed vision algorithm recognizes correctly every single strawberry and has high accuracy in recognizing occluded strawberries in which the largest part of each of them is visible. A small localization error results in a correct grasp and cut without causing damage to the fruit.

Optimal conceptual design and vision-based control of a fruit harvesting robot

International Journal of Intelligent Machines and Robotics, 2018

The main contribution of this paper is to develop a vision-based control of a robotic arm for the harvesting fruits. The camera fixed in the gripper pad enables to precisely locate the fruit and pluck it from the branch. Rigorous stability analysis is done to ensure the guaranteed performance of the closed loop system. The camera feedback locates the exact position of the fruit; this enables the controller to track a suitable and optimal path to reach the target by performing desirable transformations. The manipulator with five-DOF (RRPRR) is designed and optimised for the formulating simple control strategies. The finger-like built gripper is electrically actuated to provide the necessary force required in harvesting the fruit. Also an additional bellow kind of structure is specially designed and located below the gripper which helps to roll down the harvested fruit on to the storage container without damaging it. Numerical simulation analysis was carried out along with the design realisation to justify the context. The advancement in the field of agrionics has also been a source of inspiration in designing agricultural robots. 46 K. Saran Kumar et al.

Design and fuzzy control of a robotic gripper for efficient strawberry harvesting

Robotica, 2014

SUMMARYStrawberry is a very delicate fruit that requires special treatment during harvesting. A hierarchical control scheme is proposed based on a fuzzy controller for the force regulation of the gripper and proper grasping criteria, that can detect misplaced strawberries on the gripper or uneven distribution of forces. The design of the gripper and the controller are based on conducted experiments to measure the maximum gripping force and the required detachment force under a variety of detachment techniques. It is demonstrated that the hand motion for detaching the fruit from the stem has a significant role in the process because it can reduce the required force. By analysing those results a robotic gripper with pressure profile sensors is developed that demonstrates an efficiency comparable to the human hand for strawberry grasping. The designed gripper and fuzzy controller performance is tested with a considerable number of fresh fruits to demonstrate the effectiveness to the un...

Towards designing a robot gripper for efficient strawberry harvesting

Strawberry is a very delicate fruit that requires special treatment during harvesting. It this paper, a strawberry gripper is developed for picking by investigating the hand motion of a skilled worker. It is demonstrated that the hand motion for detaching the fruit from the stem has a significant role in the process because it can reduce the required force and consequently the damage to the fruit. Experiments are conducted using a robot arm and force sensors to measure the maximum gripping force and the required detachment force under a variety of detachment ways and gripping materials. By analysing those results a prototype of a simple and economic gripper is developed that demonstrates an efficiency comparable to the human hand for this task.

Development of an Autonomous Multifunctional Fruits Harvester

Open Access Journal of Agricultural Research

There is global shortage of food production due to inadequate workforce, to carry out crop production. This study strived to develop an autonomous system, which can harvest more than one type of crop with high accuracy to improve effectiveness, and minimized production and operational costs. To minimize the mechanical damage done to the fruits during the harvesting and handling operations, the system combined the mechanical properties and optical properties of the fruits during operation. Sensor was attached to the fruits collection container system to prevent overloading of the container, hence protecting the fruits from mechanical stresses. Results obtained for the laboratory trial revealed that the prototype robotic system had a higher performance (about 90%) when tested with pepper fruits, when compared with the performance rating (about 85%) recorded with eggplant fruits. It was also observed from the laboratory trials that the robotic system aborted the harvesting operation, w...

Development of a mechanical fruit picker

2008

ABSTRAK vi TABLE OF CONTENT vii LIST OF TABLES xi LIST OF FIGURES xii LIST OF APPENDICES xiv CHAPTER 1 4.3.1 Type of Defect 44 4.3.2 Problem In Progress 46 CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Robotic Harvesting of Fruiting Vegetables

2018

In modern agriculture, there is a high demand to move from tedious manual harvesting to a continuously automated operation. This chapter reports on designing a simulation and control platform in V-REP, ROS, and MATLAB for experimenting with sensors and manipulators in robotic harvesting of sweet pepper. The objective was to provide a completely simulated environment for improvement of visual servoing task through easy testing and debugging of control algorithms with zero damage risk to the real robot and to the actual equipment. A simulated workspace, including an exact replica of different robot manipulators, sensing mechanisms, and sweet pepper plant, and fruit system was created in V-REP. Image moment method visual servoing with eye-in-hand configuration was implemented in MATLAB, and was tested on four robotic platforms including Fanuc LR Mate 200iD, NOVABOT, multiple linear actuators, and multiple SCARA arms. Data from simulation experiments were used as inputs of the control a...

Autonomous Fruit Picking Machine: A Robotic Apple Harvester

Springer Tracts in Advanced Robotics, 2008

This paper describes the construction and functionality of an Autonomous Fruit Picking Machine (AFPM) for robotic apple harvesting. The key element for the success of the AFPM is the integrated approach which combines state of the art industrial components with the newly designed flexible gripper. The gripper consist of a silicone funnel with a camera mounted inside. The proposed concepts guarantee adequate control of the autonomous fruit harvesting operation globally and of the fruit picking cycle particularly. Extensive experiments in the field validate the functionality of the AFPM.