A novel end-effector for a fruit and vegetable harvesting robot: mechanism and field experiment

Fruit and vegetable harvesting robots have been widely studied and developed in recent years. However, the usage of existing end-effectors remains a challenge because they cannot be extended to other fruits and vegetables. This study proposes a novel end-effector that can harvest a variety of fruits and vegetables without any additional and complex control. For efficient harvesting, an end-effector in which the cutting, suction and transporting modules were integrated was designed and the performance of each module was verified through lab and field experiments, ensuring a reduction in harvesting time and improved productivity, the goal of harvest automation. Field experiments were conducted for a total of five cases (- 30 degrees, - 15 degrees, 0 degrees, 15 degrees and 30 degrees) for each entry angle in three places. A total of 160 cluster tomatoes were harvested, with a total success rate of 80.6% and a total harvesting time of 15.5 s. The success rates for each entry angle were 75.0%, 71.9%, 93.8%, 81.2% and 81.2% and the harvesting times were 20.2, 16.0, 13.5, 13.7 and 14.1 s, respectively. The results also open the possibility of designing a robust harvesting system for the proposed end-effector. This study also provides directions for future discussion through which harvesting robots and the utilization of robust harvesting systems can be improved.