Strawberry-Picking Vehicle

Description

Harvest CROO Robotics has introduced its autonomous vehicle, which is expected to be completed by Winter 2018 and picking strawberries. In Phase 1, a GPS navigation system, LIDAR technology, and other camera and sensor features are being developed.

 

The mobile platform is a modified version of a Colby Harvest Pro Machine. With four-wheel steering, turning movement will be smooth and precise, providing a zero turning radius for greater maneuverability than a standard tractor. Special leveling hardware and software has been developed and added to allow the vehicle to compensate for varying bed heights.

 

The vehicle will carry 16 picking robots through the field and span 6 beds of plants, picking the four middle beds. The Harvest CROO machine is equipped with a dual GPS system. The Harvester uses both GPS systems to interpolate the position of the platform to be able to position the robots precisely over the plants.

 

Using the proprietary vision system, all ripe berries will be harvested from the plants. The fruit will then be transferred up to the platform level of the machine using a series of conveyers. There, the packing module will perform a secondary inspection and grade the fruit. Depending on quality, it will be packed into consumer units, diverted to process trays, or discarded. The use of this technology will improve the quality of the berries picked, reduce energy usage, and increase strawberry yields.

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