Berry Twist: a Twisting-Tube Soft Robotic Gripper for Blackberry Harvesting

Fuente: arXiv
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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Elfferich, Johannes F., Shahabi, Ebrahim, Della Santina, Cosimo, Dodou, Dimitra
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Elfferich, Johannes F.
Shahabi, Ebrahim
Della Santina, Cosimo
Dodou, Dimitra
author_facet Elfferich, Johannes F.
Shahabi, Ebrahim
Della Santina, Cosimo
Dodou, Dimitra
contents As global demand for fruits and vegetables continues to rise, the agricultural industry faces challenges in securing adequate labor. Robotic harvesting devices offer a promising solution to solve this issue. However, harvesting delicate fruits, notably blackberries, poses unique challenges due to their fragility. This study introduces and evaluates a prototype robotic gripper specifically designed for blackberry harvesting. The gripper features an innovative fabric tube mechanism employing motorized twisting action to gently envelop the fruit, ensuring uniform pressure application and minimizing damage. Three types of tubes were developed, varying in elasticity and compressibility using foam padding, spandex, and food-safe cotton cheesecloth. Performance testing focused on assessing each gripper's ability to detach and release blackberries, with emphasis on quantifying damage rates. Results indicate the proposed gripper achieved an 82% success rate in detaching blackberries and a 95% success rate in releasing them, showcasing the promised potential for robotic harvesting applications.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2403_17099
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Berry Twist: a Twisting-Tube Soft Robotic Gripper for Blackberry Harvesting
Elfferich, Johannes F.
Shahabi, Ebrahim
Della Santina, Cosimo
Dodou, Dimitra
Robotics
As global demand for fruits and vegetables continues to rise, the agricultural industry faces challenges in securing adequate labor. Robotic harvesting devices offer a promising solution to solve this issue. However, harvesting delicate fruits, notably blackberries, poses unique challenges due to their fragility. This study introduces and evaluates a prototype robotic gripper specifically designed for blackberry harvesting. The gripper features an innovative fabric tube mechanism employing motorized twisting action to gently envelop the fruit, ensuring uniform pressure application and minimizing damage. Three types of tubes were developed, varying in elasticity and compressibility using foam padding, spandex, and food-safe cotton cheesecloth. Performance testing focused on assessing each gripper's ability to detach and release blackberries, with emphasis on quantifying damage rates. Results indicate the proposed gripper achieved an 82% success rate in detaching blackberries and a 95% success rate in releasing them, showcasing the promised potential for robotic harvesting applications.
title Berry Twist: a Twisting-Tube Soft Robotic Gripper for Blackberry Harvesting
topic Robotics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.17099