Design and Development of Collaborative Robots for Greenhouse Harvesting

Collaborative robots, also known as Cobots, are devices that will help farmers in their farming duties to have better control over their crops, increase harvesting efficiency, and solve labor shortage issues in rural areas. These robots can operate near humans and complete a wide variety of tasks including harvesting crops, precise pesticide spraying and crop monitoring. Employing robots in agricultural settings is challenging, however, due to the variability in the environment they work in resulting in complex functional requirements. To safely operate near humans with any autonomy, these robots must have complex machine vision systems and sensors where a series of sensors connected to an on-board computer provide continuous feedback from the robot’s surroundings and the end gripper allowing the robot to collect data and complete its tasks safely. This project aims to develop a cobot using a robotic manipulator as a greenhouse harvesting device. Machine vision algorithms will be designed to allow the robot to navigate its space, identify objects and orient itself correctly. A compliant custom gripper with crops proper interface loadings will also be designed to provide proper grip while avoiding crops damage.

Faculty Supervisor:

Mostafa El Sayed

Student:

Partner:

ASP Laser Inc

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Technology; Manufacturing and Construction; Other

University:

Carleton University

Program: