Compact Strawberry Harvesting Tube Employing Laser Cutter

Abstract

In this paper, a novel prototype for hanging produce harvesting is presented, that is productive, versatile, and robust. In our methodology, the robot-mounted tube approaches, and eventually surrounds the produce of interest at the entry side, that can be as small as the produce diameter, plus a small margin. The stem is then cut by a laser beam, with the optics set up for a distant focal point. Such arrangement allows for minimal hardware at the produce-entry side and in turn, the interaction, and possible disturbance to the local environment. This is essential for fruit reachability and avoiding it dislocation. Experiments has been conducted to drive the laser power to time of cut relation, as well as successful demonstration to sample harvest strawberry.