Design, integration, and field evaluation of a robotic apple harvester

Abhisesh Silwal; Joseph R. Davidson; Manoj Karkee; Changki Mo; Qin Zhang; Karen Lewis

doi:10.1002/rob.21715

journal article Apr 28, 2017

Design, integration, and field evaluation of a robotic apple harvester

Abhisesh Silwal Joseph R. Davidson Manoj Karkee

Changki Mo Qin Zhang

Karen Lewis

Journal of Field Robotics Vol. 34 No. 6 pp. 1140-1159 · Wiley

View at Publisher Save 10.1002/rob.21715

Abstract

AbstractEvery apple destined for the fresh market is picked by the human hand. Despite extensive research over the past four decades, there are no mechanical apple harvesters for the fresh market commercially available, which is a significant concern because of increasing uncertainty about the availability of manual labor and rising production costs. The highly unstructured orchard environment has been a major challenge to the development of commercially viable robotic harvesting systems. This paper reports the design and field evaluation of a robotic apple harvester. The approach adopted was to use a low‐cost system to assess required sensing, planning, and manipulation functionality in a modern orchard system with a planar canopy. The system was tested in a commercial apple orchard in Washington State. Workspace modifications and performance criteria are thoroughly defined and reported to help evaluate the approach and guide future enhancements. The machine vision system was accurate and had an average localization time of 1.5 s per fruit. The seven degree of freedom harvesting system successfully picked 127 of the 150 fruit attempted for an overall success rate of 84% with an average picking time of 6.0 s per fruit. Future work will include integration of additional sensing and obstacle detection for improved system robustness.

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Details

Published: Apr 28, 2017
Vol/Issue: 34(6)
Pages: 1140-1159
License: View

Authors

A

Abhisesh Silwal

Biological Systems Engineering Department, Center for Precision and Automated Agricultural Systems Washington State University USA

J

Joseph R. Davidson

School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering Washington State University USA

M

Manoj Karkee

Biological Systems Engineering Department, Center for Precision and Automated Agricultural Systems Washington State University USA

C

Changki Mo

School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering Washington State University USA

Q

Qin Zhang

Biological Systems Engineering Department, Center for Precision and Automated Agricultural Systems Washington State University USA

K

Karen Lewis

Extension, Center for Precision and Automated Agricultural Systems Washington State University USA

Funding

U.S. Department of Agriculture Award: 1005756

Washington State University

National Institute of Food and Agriculture Award: 1000339

Cite This Article

Abhisesh Silwal, Joseph R. Davidson, Manoj Karkee, et al. (2017). Design, integration, and field evaluation of a robotic apple harvester. Journal of Field Robotics, 34(6), 1140-1159. https://doi.org/10.1002/rob.21715

Design, integration, and field evaluation of a robotic apple harvester

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