In Australia, fruit and vegetable farmers face a high labour cost that reduces a farmer’s ability to operate a profitable business. In addition, farmers often experience a shortage of skilled labour. As a result, researchers at the Centre developed Harvey, a robotic capsicum harvester.
Harvey was an agriculture robot prototype designed to robotically identify and harvest capsicums. Harvey’s robotic arm had a camera and a unique cutting tool attached. Using data from the camera, the robot created a 3D model of each fruit and its surroundings, and then planned and controlled the robotic arm and cutting tool as it located and detached the fruit.
Lead Researcher: Dr Chris Lehnert