Automation harvesting of whole-head iceberg lettuce.

全头卷心生菜的自动化收获。

• 批准号: 100852
• 金额: $ 31.63万
• 依托单位: GRIMME (U.K.) LIMITED
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Collaborative R&D
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2021 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=100852
• 关键词: Automation; harvesting; whole; head; iceberg

The horticulture sector is heavily reliant on access to seasonal labour for many field operations, including harvest. Movement restrictions because of Covid-19, post-Brexit uncertainty, competition from other sectors, and the lack of suitable UK-based labour have driven growers to seek investments in labour-replacing technologies.99,000 tonnes of lettuce were harvested by seasonal workers in the UK in 2019 with a farm gate value of £178 million (Defra BHS, 2020), UK's highest value field vegetable crop.This project has identified an opportunity to automate the process, and reduce the reliance on seasonal labour, by developing an innovative robotic solution.* We intend to adapt existing mechanical capability and lift the lettuce clear of the ground by discs and then gripping the stem with pinch belts.* The lettuce will then be presented to camera sensors that will direct an air blast which will blow the outer wrapper leaves of the lettuce head clear to expose the stem.* Machine vision via deep segmentation will then be deployed using a second camera sensor to train a deep learning model to identify the precise location to be cut.The three separate developments will be combined to form a prototype for field trials towards the end of the 2021 UK season.Engagement with end-users has confirmed their need and willingness to be part of the development of such a machine. Early indications are that harvesting costs could be reduced by around £5,000 per hectare per annum.123,000ha of lettuce and chicory was grown in the EU in 2018 (FaoStat, 2020) with similar areas in the USA. These areas have similar issues to the UK with access to seasonal labour, therefore the potential market for such an innovative machine is extensive.

园艺部门的许多田间作业（包括收获）严重依赖季节性劳动力。由于 Covid-19、英国脱欧后的不确定性、来自其他行业的竞争以及缺乏合适的英国劳动力，种植者寻求对劳动力替代技术的投资。2019 年，英国季节性工人收获了 99,000 吨生菜，农场交货价值为 1.78 亿英镑（Defra BHS，2020 年），是英国价值最高的大田蔬菜作物。 通过开发创新的机器人解决方案，有机会实现流程自动化，并减少对季节性劳动力的依赖。*我们打算调整现有的机械能力，通过圆盘将生菜抬离地面，然后用夹带夹住茎。*然后，生菜将被呈现给摄像头传感器，摄像机传感器将引导气流，将生菜头的外包装叶子吹干净，露出茎。*然后，将通过深度分割实现机器视觉 使用第二个摄像头传感器进行部署，以训练深度学习模型来识别要切割的精确位置。这三个独立的开发项目将结合起来，形成一个原型，以便在 2021 年英国季节结束时进行现场试验。与最终用户的接触已证实他们需要并愿意参与此类机器的开发。早期迹象表明，每年每公顷的收获成本可降低约 5,000 英镑。2018 年，欧盟种植了 123,000 公顷生菜和菊苣（FaoStat，2020），美国也有类似种植面积。这些地区在获得季节性劳动力方面与英国有类似的问题，因此这种创新机器的潜在市场非常广泛。