Robotic Pollination - Targeting kiwifruit flowers for commercial application

Abstract

This paper contains the initial evaluation of a novel platform mounted robotic pollination system. Advancement in artificial pollination is an important step forward in agricultural sectors due to the global decline of natural pollinators. Robotic pollination allows for potentially autonomous, precision operation; however, background research suggested that prior development in the area has been sparse. The featured wet-application robotic pollination system was capable of detecting >70% of flowers whilst driving at a slow-pace through kiwifruit orchard rows. Over 80% of flowers were robotically pollinated.