The European research project Clever Robots for Crops (CROPS) for the
development of robotics in horticulture and forestry was recently accomplished.
The project has been co-ordinated by Wageningen UR Greenhouse Horticulture and
was co-funded by the Dutch Horticultural Product Board and has also led to the
development of the sweet-pepper harvesting robot. The four-year's research
project with thirteen partners from ten different countries has led to a
universal robotic platform for producing and harvesting high value crops.
Sensor systems for obstacle avoidance for forest machines have also been
developed.
All robots use the same type of modular system and the same software
architecture. This makes it easy for example to use a different camera or
different type of robotic hand. The sweet-pepper harvesting robot developed in
Wageningen is able to locate, to approach, to hold, to detach and to collect
ripe fruits. The picking success rate of and the needed cycle time in practice
is so far insufficient for commercial use, but with the first ever working
sweet-pepper harvesting robot in a realistic environment an important milestone
has been reached. Experiments in a commercial greenhouse have yielded a wealth
of data and information.
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