Robot-Assisted Autonomous Harvesting of Berries

当今世界面临的一个令人担忧的问题是，粮食生产不足以满足快速增长的人口，预计2050年人口将达到97亿。根据加拿大统计局的数据，2020年加拿大第二大水果作物是小红莓，产量为162,243吨，占水果总产量的18.1%。蓝莓(14.8444公吨，16.5%)和草莓(24158公吨，2.8%)分别位居第二和第四。提高农业生产率和产生未来粮食安全的解决方案在于应用农业技术和农业机器人技术，通过工业4.0和智能自动化提供更高效和可靠的流程。劳动力短缺是导致收成损失的主要因素之一。该项目提出了一个采摘覆盆子和黑莓的机器人系统，以应对这一挑战。它由两个新颖的部分组成：智能人工视觉系统和采用可持续轻柔材料设计的新型夹持器。用于农业部门的人工智能和机器人系统通过自动化和增强各种农业任务，已开始在全球范围内获得广泛欢迎。通过利用先进的智能计算机视觉算法和机器人技术在农业中增加智能技术的部署，使这一业务多样化，进入更可持续和更有效的自动化部门。应对这一挑战的研究伙伴是CInvestav-Guadalajara的自动控制系、阿尔伯塔大学的智能制造、设计和自动化实验室以及苏黎世理工大学的自主系统实验室。

An alarming issue the world faces today is inadequate food production to feed the rapid population growth, which is expected to reach 9.7 billion in 2050. According to Statistics Canada, the second-most significant fruit crop in Canada in 2020 was cranberries, accounting for 162,243 metric tons, or 18.1%, of the total fruit harvest. Blueberries (148,444 metric tons, 16.5%) and strawberries (24,158 metric tons, 2.8%) come in second and fourth, respectively. The solution to boosting agricultural productivity and generating future food security lies in applying agri-tech and agri-robotics, providing more efficient and reliable processes through Industry 4.0 and smart automation. The labor shortage is one of the main factors that lead to harvest losses. This project addresses that challenge by proposing a robotic system for picking raspberries and blackberries. It consists of two novel parts: an intelligent artificial vision system and a novel gripper designed with sustainable lightweight/soft materials for picking. Artificial intelligence and robotic systems for the agriculture sector have started gaining widespread popularity globally by automating and augmenting various farming tasks. Increasing the deployment of smart technologies in agriculture by utilizing advanced intelligent computer vision algorithms and robotics lets diversify this business into a more sustainable and effective automated sector. The research partners for addressing this challenge are the Automatic Control department at Cinvestav-Guadalajara, the Laboratory of Intelligent Manufacturing, Design and Automation at the University of Alberta, and the Autonomous Systems Lab at ETH Zurich.