3D Printing Soft Robotic Grippers for Automated Strawberry Harvesting

草莓是英格兰第二大产量和价值最高的水果，每年种植14.16万吨，每吨能卖到2460 GB。然而，草莓的收获是非常劳动密集型的，这增加了成本和易受劳动力短缺的影响。甚至在大流行之前，英国就有超过30%的采摘工短缺，导致成吨的水果和蔬菜损失。[2]这促使人们对自动化采摘技术进行了大量研究，通常使用气动或液压夹持器。然而，这些坚硬的材料(通常是金属)使得现有的夹持器很容易损坏草莓。[3][4][5]软机器人是一个新领域，旨在使机器人主要由软材料组成。[6]3D打印允许制造新型软机器人，可以模仿生物有机体的复杂性和功能，从而实现了提高机器人性能的新策略。该项目旨在研究一种新颖的3D打印软机器人夹持器解决方案，使草莓能够快速而温和地收获。这将使用主管小组正在开发的新型3D打印机。它还将探索新的材料和结构。总而言之，这些新技术将导致更合适的机器人夹爪的解决方案，并可能在机器人收割性能方面发生阶段性变化。参考[1]GOV.UK，“英国园艺统计”，GOV.UK，(访问DEC。2020).[2]https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/may/20/farms-still-need-up-to-40000-uk-workers-to-harvest-fruit-and-veg(神圣的1月首页--期刊主要分类--期刊细介绍--期刊题录与文摘--期刊详细文摘内容《人工采摘水果对工人健康和产品质量的影响》，《Procedia制造》，2015年第3期。《用于软机器人的软物质计算机》，《科学机器人》，2019年第4期，33页。[5]熊勇，彭正鹏，L.Grimstad，P.J.From，V.Isler。《草莓采摘机器人的开发与田间评估》，《计算机与电子学》157,392,2019。[6]T.Wallin，J.Pikul，R.F.Shepherd，《3D打印软体机器人系统》，《自然评论材料》，3，84,2018。

Strawberries are the second most produced and highest value fruit in England with 141,600 tons grown annually fetching £2,460 per ton. However, strawberries are very labour-intensive to harvest, which increases costs and vulnerability to labour shortages. Even before the pandemic there was an over 30% shortage of pickers in the UK, causing tons of fruit and vegetables to be lost.[2] This has motivated much research into automated picking technologies, typically using pneumatic or hydraulic grippers. However, the rigid materials (often metals) these are made from make existing grippers prone to damaging strawberries.[3][4][5] Soft robotics is a new field aiming to make robots consisting largely of soft materials.[6] 3D printing allows the manufacture of novel soft robots that can mimic the complexity and functionality of biological organisms, enabling new strategies to enhance robot performance. This project aims to investigate a novel 3D printed soft robotic gripper solution enabling rapid yet gentle harvesting of strawberries. This will use new kinds of 3D printers being developed in the supervisor's group. It will also explore new materials and structures. Together, these new technologies will lead to a solution of more suitable robotic grippers and potentially a step change in the performance of robotic harvesting.References [1] GOV.UK, "UK HORTICULTURAL STATISTICS.",GOV.UK,(ACCESSED DEC. 2020).[2] https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/may/20/farms-still-need-up-to-40000-uk-workers-to-harvest-fruit-and-veg (ACESSED JAN. 2021)[3] M. MLOTEK, L. KUTA, R. STOPA, P. KOMARNICKI. "THE EFFECT OF MANUAL HARVESTING OF FRUIT ON THE HEALTH OF WORKERS AND THE QUALITY OF THE OBTAINED PRODUCE," PROCEDIA MANUFACTURING 3, 2015.[4] M. Garrad, G. Soter, A. T. Conn, H. Hauser, J. Rossiter. "A soft matter computer for soft robots", Science Robotics, 4, 33, 2019.[5] Y.Xiong, C.Peng, L.Grimstad, P.J.From, V.Isler. "Development and field evaluation of a strawberry harvesting robot with a cable-driven gripper", Computers and Electronics 157, 392, 2019.[6] T. Wallin , J. Pikul, R. F. Shepherd, "3D printing of soft robotic systems.", Nature Reviews Materials, 3, 84, 2018.