Basic constitution of a robot for agricultural use

Abstract

Many studies on agricultural robots and on robot components such as manipulators, visual sensors, end-effectors and traveling devices have been performed to solve problems when robots work in fields or in greenhouses. In addition, productivity should also be considered in the agricultural production system in the case that the cultivation method and plant training system are changed so that the robot can work without trouble. In this study, a tomato harvesting robot is described as a example of an agricultural robot. First, the basic mechanism of the robot and the details of the robot components are developed based on the physical properties of the tomato plant and on the environmental conditions. Secondly, a cherry tomato harvesting end-effector is also developed so that the robot can harvest not only normal size tomatoes but also cherry tomatoes by changing the end-effector to make it a multi-purpose robot. Lastly, horticultural methods such as suitable cultivation methods and plant training methods for robot working are investigated to construct a new tomato harvesting system using a robot.