3D Printing Soft Robotic Grippers for Automated Strawberry Harvesting

用于自动化草莓采摘的 3D 打印软机器人夹具

• 批准号: 2458050
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Cambridge
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2020 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2458050
• 关键词: 3D; Printing; Soft; Robotic; Grippers

Strawberries are the second most produced and highest value fruit in England with 141,600 tons grown annually fetching £2,460 per ton. However, strawberries are very labour-intensive to harvest, which increases costs and vulnerability to labour shortages. Even before the pandemic there was an over 30% shortage of pickers in the UK, causing tons of fruit and vegetables to be lost.[2] This has motivated much research into automated picking technologies, typically using pneumatic or hydraulic grippers. However, the rigid materials (often metals) these are made from make existing grippers prone to damaging strawberries.[3][4][5] Soft robotics is a new field aiming to make robots consisting largely of soft materials.[6] 3D printing allows the manufacture of novel soft robots that can mimic the complexity and functionality of biological organisms, enabling new strategies to enhance robot performance. This project aims to investigate a novel 3D printed soft robotic gripper solution enabling rapid yet gentle harvesting of strawberries. This will use new kinds of 3D printers being developed in the supervisor's group. It will also explore new materials and structures. Together, these new technologies will lead to a solution of more suitable robotic grippers and potentially a step change in the performance of robotic harvesting.References [1] GOV.UK, "UK HORTICULTURAL STATISTICS.",GOV.UK,(ACCESSED DEC. 2020).[2] https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/may/20/farms-still-need-up-to-40000-uk-workers-to-harvest-fruit-and-veg (ACESSED JAN. 2021)[3] M. MLOTEK, L. KUTA, R. STOPA, P. KOMARNICKI. "THE EFFECT OF MANUAL HARVESTING OF FRUIT ON THE HEALTH OF WORKERS AND THE QUALITY OF THE OBTAINED PRODUCE," PROCEDIA MANUFACTURING 3, 2015.[4] M. Garrad, G. Soter, A. T. Conn, H. Hauser, J. Rossiter. "A soft matter computer for soft robots", Science Robotics, 4, 33, 2019.[5] Y.Xiong, C.Peng, L.Grimstad, P.J.From, V.Isler. "Development and field evaluation of a strawberry harvesting robot with a cable-driven gripper", Computers and Electronics 157, 392, 2019.[6] T. Wallin , J. Pikul, R. F. Shepherd, "3D printing of soft robotic systems.", Nature Reviews Materials, 3, 84, 2018.

草莓是英格兰第二大生产和最高价值的水果，每吨生产141,600吨每吨2,460英镑。但是，草莓对收获的劳动力非常强，这增加了劳动力短缺的成本和脆弱性。甚至在大流行之前，在英国，采摘者短缺30％，造成大量的水果和蔬菜丢失。[2]这融合了对自动采摘技术的大量研究，通常使用气动或水解夹具。但是，刚性材料（通常是金属）是由使现有的握手容易破坏草莓的制成的。[3] [4] [5]软机器人技术是使机器人主要由软材料组成的新领域。[6] 3D打印允许制造新型的软机器人，可以模仿生物生物体的复杂性和功能，从而实现了新策略来增强机器人性能。该项目旨在调查一种新颖的3D印刷软机器人抓地力解决方案，以实现草莓的快速而温和的收获。这将使用主管组开发的新型3D打印机。它还将探索新材料和结构。这些新技术一起将导致解决更合适的机器人抓手的解决方案，并有可能改变机器人收获的性能。引用[1] gov.uk，“英国园艺统计。”，gov.uk，（2020年12月访问）。 https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/may/20/farms-still-need-up-weed-up-40000----workers-to-harvest-fruit-and-and-veg（2021年1月，2021年1月）[3] M. Mlotek，L.Kuta，L.Kuta，R.Popa，R.Popa，R.Popa，P.Komarnicki，P.Komarnicki。 “手动收集水果对工人健康的影响以及所获得的农产品的质量”，制造业3，2015。[4] M. Garrad，G。Soter，A。T。Conn，H。Hauser，J。Rossiter。 “软件软件计算机”，《科学机器人技术》，4，33，2019。[5] Y. Xiong，C。Peng，L。Grimstad，P.J.From，V。Isler。 “用电缆驱动器抓手的草莓收获机器人的开发和现场评估”，计算机和电子设备157，392，2019。[6] T. Wallin，J。Pikul，R。F。Shepherd，“软机器人系统的3D打印”，《自然评论材料》，3，84，2018。