Automatic support stick insertion system

Abstract

An automatic support stick insertion system includes an image capture module, a processing unit, a turntable, a support stick supply module, a robot arm and a control unit. The image capture module captures the image of a potted plant. The processing unit obtains potted plant information according to the image and determines support stick insertion information according to the potted plant information. The potted plant information includes the position of a leaf and the position, amount and length of a flower stem, and the support stick insertion information includes the amount of support sticks, the length of a support stick, a support stick insertion trajectory and a support stick insertion position. The turntable carries the potted plant and rotates according to the potted plant information to change the orientation of the potted plant. The support stick supply module supplies support sticks. The robot arm grabs the support stick from the support stick supply module and inserts the support stick to the potted plant according to the support stick insertion information. The control unit controls the support stick supply module, the robot arm and the turntable to act in coordination.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a potted plant handling system, and more particularly to an automatic potted plant support rod system. Prior Technology

[0002] Ornamental orchids are very popular indoor plants because their flowers are typically very beautiful and come in a wide variety. These orchids not only beautify spaces but also bring an elegant atmosphere. To encourage orchids to grow in a better direction, support poles can be inserted into the orchid pot, and the flower stalks can be secured to the support poles with clips or other similar components. Inserting a vertical support pole near the base of each flower stalk in the orchid pot and then securing the flower stalk to the support pole using various types of clips provides better support, maintains a more ideal growth direction, and reduces damage to the drooping flower stalks caused by collisions or pulling with other potted plant stalks or environmental objects during packaging and transportation. For aesthetic purposes, each flower stalk is usually supported by a support pole whose total length is slightly shorter than the vertical length of the flower stalk. The installation of support poles on potted orchids is typically done manually. Workers must select support poles of appropriate length based on the position and condition of the leaves and flower stalks on each potted plant, and determine the suitable placement for the poles. Because the flower stalks on a potted orchid vary in length, workers often misjudge by visual inspection, inserting a pole of inappropriate length (too long or too short) only to realize their mistake later. In this case, the inappropriate pole must be removed, and a new one of the correct length must be inserted, wasting considerable time. Each orchid pot usually has a different number of flower stalks, which may grow on different sides of the large leaves that grow from the center outwards. Finding the ideal position for each flower stalk on the potted plant, without interfering with other support poles, is crucial for the effective fixation of the flower stalk. Workers often choose less-than-ideal placements due to oversight, reducing the effectiveness of the fixation. For factories that mass-produce potted orchids, this work method relies on a large number of workers and is labor-intensive and time-consuming. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This invention provides an automatic support rod insertion system for efficiently inserting support rods into potted plants in an automated manner.

[0004] The present invention discloses an automatic support rod insertion system for inserting support rods into a potted plant, the potted plant comprising at least one leaf and at least one flower stalk. The automatic support rod insertion system includes an image acquisition module, a processing unit, a turntable, a support rod supply module, a robotic arm, and a control unit. The image acquisition module is used to acquire at least one image of the potted plant. The processing unit is coupled to the image acquisition module and is used to obtain potted plant information based on the at least one image, and to determine support rod insertion information based on the potted plant information, wherein the potted plant information includes the position, number, and length of at least one leaf and at least one flower stalk, and the support rod insertion information includes the number of support rods, the length of the support rods, the insertion trajectory of the support rods, and the insertion position of the support rods. The turntable is used to carry the potted plant, wherein the turntable is used to rotate according to the potted plant information to change the orientation of the potted plant. The support rod supply module is used to supply at least one support rod. The robotic arm is coupled to the processing unit and is used to grasp at least one support rod from the support rod supply module according to the support rod insertion information and insert at least one support rod into the potted plant. The control unit is coupled to the support rod supply module, the robotic arm, and the turntable and is used to control the coordinated operation of the support rod supply module, the robotic arm, and the turntable.

[0005] In one embodiment of the present invention, the aforementioned at least one image includes a first image and a second image, the potted plant information includes first information and second information, the image capturing module is used to capture the first image above the potted plant and to capture the second image in front of the potted plant, the processing unit is used to obtain the first information based on the first image and to obtain the second information based on the second image, the first information includes the position of at least one leaf and the position and number of at least one flower stalk, and the second information includes the position and length of the flower stalk.

[0006] In one embodiment of the present invention, the image capturing module includes a first image capturing device and a second image capturing device. The first image capturing device is used to capture a first image above the potted plant, and the second image capturing device is used to capture a second image in front of the potted plant.

[0007] In one embodiment of the present invention, the turntable is used to rotate according to the first information so that a predetermined image-taking side of the potted plant faces the image-capturing module.

[0008] In one embodiment of the invention, the turntable is used to rotate according to the first information so that a predetermined support rod of the potted plant faces or turns away from the robot arm.

[0009] In one embodiment of the invention, the turntable is used to rotate according to the first information so that a predetermined support rod of the potted plant is positioned in a specific direction relative to the robotic arm to avoid colliding with the support rod on the potted plant.

[0010] In one embodiment of the present invention, the processing unit described above is used to determine the insertion support rod information based on the first information and the second information.

[0011] In one embodiment of the present invention, the above-mentioned support rod supply module can supply one support rod at a preset position for the robotic arm to grip at a fixed position.

[0012] In one embodiment of the present invention, the above-mentioned support rod supply module includes a plurality of support rod supply devices, which are used to supply support rods of different lengths.

[0013] In one embodiment of the present invention, the image capturing module is further used to capture an image of the head of a support rod of at least one support rod being gripped by the robotic arm, and the control unit is used to determine the degree of tilt of the support rod based on the image of the head of the support rod and to correct the operation of the robotic arm accordingly.

[0014] In one embodiment of the present invention, the image capturing module described above includes a two-dimensional camera or a three-dimensional camera.

[0015] In one embodiment of the present invention, the above-mentioned automatic support rod insertion system further includes a working area, an automatic feeding module and an automatic discharging module. The image capturing module is used to capture at least one image of the potted plant in the working area. The robotic arm is used to insert at least one support rod into the potted plant in the working area. The automatic feeding module is used to move the potted plant to the working area. The automatic discharging module is used to move the potted plant away from the working area.

[0016] Based on the above, in the automatic support rod insertion system of the present invention, the processing unit determines the number and length of support rods suitable for the potted plant based on the image of the potted plant captured by the image capturing module, and determines the insertion trajectory and position of the support rods when the robotic arm performs the insertion operation. Furthermore, the potted plant can be positioned so that its predetermined image-capturing side faces the image capturing module via the rotation of the turntable, allowing the image capturing module to successfully capture the image of the potted plant and position its predetermined support rod side facing or away from the robotic arm, enabling the robotic arm to smoothly insert the support rods into the appropriate positions on the potted plant. Accordingly, the automatic support rod insertion system of the present invention can replace the traditional manual method, efficiently performing support rod insertion operations on potted plants in an automated manner. Simple Explanation of the Diagram

[0017] Figure 1 is a perspective view of some components of an automatic support rod insertion system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a block diagram of some components of the automatic support rod insertion system in Figure 1. Figure 3 is a side view of the potted plant in Figure 1. Figure 4 is a top view of the potted plant in Figure 3. Figure 5 illustrates the change in orientation of the potted plant in Figure 4. Figure 6 shows the potted plant in Figure 3 after the support rod has been inserted. Figure 7 is a top view of a potted plant according to another embodiment of the present invention. Figures 8A to 8F illustrate the operation flow of the automatic support rod insertion system in Figure 1. Figure 9 illustrates the automatic support rod system of Figure 1 integrated into the potted plant delivery system. Figures 10 and 11 illustrate the automatic support rod system and the potted plant delivery system of Figure 9, which are matched with each other in different numbers. Implementation

[0018] Figure 1 is a perspective view of some components of an automatic support rod insertion system according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing the axes X, Y, and Z. Figure 2 is a block diagram of some components of the automatic support rod insertion system of Figure 1. Figure 3 is a side view of the potted plant of Figure 1. Referring to Figures 1 to 3, the automatic support rod insertion system 100 of this embodiment is used to insert support rods into potted plants (multiple potted plants 50A to 50D are shown in Figure 1). The potted plants in Figure 1 are only simplified. Taking potted plant 50D shown in Figure 3 as an example, each potted plant is, for example, an orchid potted plant and includes leaves 52, flower stalks 54, and a flowerpot 56 that supports the leaves 52 and flower stalks 54. In this invention, the flowerpot 56 can be a flowerpot for planting orchids, or it can be used as a protective container for placing orchid pots on a production line; it can be considered a flowerpot in a broad sense. These two interpretations do not affect the innovative technology of this invention. The automatic support rod insertion system 100 includes an image capturing module 110, a processing unit 120, multiple turntables 130, a support rod supply module 140, a robotic arm 150, and a control unit 160. The image capturing module 110 is used to capture images of the potted plant.

[0019] Processing unit 120 is coupled to image acquisition module 110 and is used to obtain potted plant information based on the image, and to determine support rod information based on the potted plant information. The potted plant information includes the position, number, and length of leaves 52 and flower stalks 54, and the support rod information includes the support rod length, support rod trajectory, and support rod position. These turntables 130 are used to carry these potted plants 50A~50D respectively, and each turntable 130 can rotate according to the potted plant information to change the orientation of the potted plant. Support rod supply module 140 is used to supply support rods. Robotic arm 150 is coupled to processing unit 120 and is used to pick up support rods from support rod supply module 140 and insert support rods into potted plants according to the support rod information. Control unit 160 is coupled to support rod supply module 140, robotic arm 150, and turntables 130 and is used to control the coordinated operation of support rod supply module 140, robotic arm 150, and turntables 130.

[0020] In this embodiment, the processing unit 120 and the control unit 160 may include devices or processors such as desktop computers, notebook computers, smartphones, tablet computers, workstations, and hosts (e.g., central processing units (CPUs), microcontrollers, programmable controllers, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), chips, or other similar components or combinations thereof), and the present invention does not limit this.

[0021] As described above, in the automatic support rod insertion system 100 of this embodiment, the processing unit 120 determines the number and length of support rods suitable for the potted plant based on the image of the potted plant captured by the image capturing module 110, and determines the insertion trajectory and position of the support rods when the robotic arm 150 performs the insertion operation. Furthermore, the potted plant can be moved by the turntable 130 so that its predetermined image-capturing side faces the image capturing module 110, thereby enabling the image capturing module 110 to successfully capture the image of the potted plant and ensure that its predetermined support rod insertion side faces or is away from the robotic arm 150, allowing the robotic arm 150 to smoothly insert the support rods into the appropriate positions on the potted plant. Therefore, the automatic support rod insertion system 100 of this embodiment can replace the traditional manual method, efficiently and correctly performing support rod insertion operations on potted plants in an automated manner.

[0022] In detail, the image captured by the image capturing module 110 includes a first image and a second image. The first image is a top-down view of the potted plant, and the second image is a front-view view of the potted plant. Correspondingly, the potted plant information obtained by the processing unit 120 based on the images includes first information corresponding to the first image and second information corresponding to the second image. The first information includes the position of the leaves 52 and the position and number of the flower stalks 54 when viewed from above, and the second information includes the position and length of the flower stalks 54 when viewed from the front. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG1, the image capturing module 110 includes a first image capturing device 110a and at least one second image capturing device 110b (two are shown). The first image capturing device 110a is, for example, a two-dimensional camera or a three-dimensional camera and is used to capture the first image from above the potted plant. The second image capturing device 110b is, for example, a two-dimensional camera or a three-dimensional camera and is used to capture the second image from in front of the potted plant. The processing unit 120 is used to obtain the first information based on the first image and to obtain the second information based on the second image.

[0023] Figure 4 is a top view of the potted plant in Figure 3. Figure 5 illustrates the change in orientation of the potted plant in Figure 4. Taking the potted plant 50D shown in Figures 4 and 5 as an example, it has a first side S1 and a second side S2 opposite each other in the short axis direction A of the leaf 52, and the two flower stalks 54 are located, for example, on the first side S1. The turntable 130 can be rotated as shown in Figures 4 and 5 according to at least some of the information in the first information (e.g., the position of the leaf 52 and the position of the flower stalks 54 when viewed from above) so that a predetermined image-capturing side (first side S1) of the potted plant 50D faces the second image-capturing device 110b of the image-capturing module 110, so that the second image-capturing device 110b can successfully capture an image of the potted plant 50D that clearly shows the position and length of the flower stalks 54. Furthermore, the turntable 130 can rotate as shown in Figures 4 and 5 based on at least some of the information in the first information (e.g., the position of the leaf 52 and the position of the flower stalk 54 when viewed from above) so that a predetermined support rod side (first side S1) of the potted plant 50D faces or faces away from the robotic arm 150, making it easier for the robotic arm 150 to perform the support rod insertion operation on the potted plant 50D. There are advantages and disadvantages to having the predetermined image-taking side (first side S1) facing or facing away from the robotic arm. When facing the robotic arm, the robotic arm is closer to the flowerpot when performing the support rod insertion operation. When facing away from the robotic arm, the probability of the robotic arm accidentally touching the flower stalk 54 when inserting the rod is lower. Based on at least some of the information in the first information, if it is predicted that when inserting a support rod, the support rod already inserted on the flowerpot facing or away from the robot arm 150 will hinder the insertion of the support rod, the turntable 130 can be rotated to a specific angle position relative to the robot arm 150, so that the robot arm 150 can easily insert the support rod on the flowerpot 50D without colliding with the existing support rod on the flowerpot.

[0024] Continuing from the above, the processing unit 120 can determine the spatial extension pattern of the flower stalk 54 based on at least some of the information in the first information (e.g., the position and number of flower stalks 54 when viewed from above) and the second information (the position and length of flower stalks 54 when viewed from the front), and accordingly calculate and determine the information on the inserted support rods (number of support rods, length of support rods, trajectory of inserted support rods, and position of inserted support rods). Taking the potted plant 50D shown in Figure 5 as an example, based on the position and number of flower stalks 54 when viewed from above and the position and length of flower stalks 54 when viewed from the front, the processing unit 120 can determine the number of support rods, length of support rods, trajectory of inserted support rods, and position of inserted support rods suitable for the potted plant 50D. The position of inserted support rods is, for example, the two positions P adjacent to the two flower stalks 54 on the first side S1 as shown in Figure 5. Figure 6 shows the potted plant of Figure 3 after the insertion of support rods. After the insertion of support rods is completed, the two support rods 60 are respectively adjacent to the two flower stalks 54 as shown in Figure 6, so that the flower stalks 54 can be fixed together with the support rods 60 by clips or other similar components to facilitate subsequent growth. Figure 7 is a top view of a potted plant according to another embodiment of the present invention. When the two flower stalks 54 are located on the first side S1 and the second side S2 as shown in Figure 7, the support rod is inserted at, for example, the two positions P' adjacent to the two flower stalks 54 on the first side S1 and the second side S2, respectively, as shown in Figure 7. Of course, there are exceptions; the support rod can be inserted on the side of the flower stalk 54 opposite the leaf 52.

[0025] Referring to Figure 1, in this embodiment, the support rod supply module 140 includes multiple support rod supply devices 140a~140g, which are used to automatically supply support rods of different lengths. The support rod supply module is designed to supply one support rod at a preset exit position, allowing a robotic arm to grip it at that fixed position, saving time. Once a support rod at the preset exit position of the support rod supply module is gripped by the robotic arm, the module is designed to continue supplying a new support rod to that preset exit position.

[0026] Based on the number and length of the support rods in the support rod information, the control unit 160 controls the robotic arm 150 to sequentially pick up the required number and length of support rods from the support rod supply devices 140a~140g one at a time and insert them into the corresponding potted plant position.

[0027] In this embodiment, the image capturing module 110, as shown in FIG1, further includes at least one third image capturing device 110c (two are shown), which is, for example, a two-dimensional camera or a three-dimensional camera. After the robotic arm 150 grips the support rod and before the robotic arm 150 inserts the support rod into the potted plant, the third image capturing device 110c is used to capture an image of the tip of the support rod gripped by the robotic arm 150. The control unit 160 can determine the degree of tilt of the support rod based on the image of the tip of the support rod and correct the operation of the robotic arm 150 accordingly, so that the robotic arm 150 can insert the support rod into the correct position on the potted plant. In one embodiment, two mutually perpendicular cameras are used to capture images of the tip of the support rod, determine the scale of the offset from the center, calculate the offset of the X and Y axes respectively, and then combine them to calculate the actual spatial offset or tilt of the rod tip. Furthermore, as shown in FIG1, the image capturing module 110 further includes at least one fourth image capturing device 110d (two are shown), which is, for example, a two-dimensional camera or a three-dimensional camera. The fourth image capturing device 110d is used to capture images of the potted plant and the support rod from above when the robotic arm 150 is performing the operation of inserting the support rod into the potted plant, observe the insertion position that the support rod is about to reach, and enable the robotic arm 150 to accurately perform the insertion operation of the support rod by correcting the insertion position when necessary with the assistance of the fourth image capturing device 110d.

[0028] As shown in Figure 1, the automatic support rod insertion system 100 of this embodiment includes an automatic feeding module 170, a working area (shown as including working positions R2 and R3), an automatic conveying module 180, and an automatic discharging module 190. A turntable 130 is rotatably mounted on a conveyor plate 135. The automatic feeding module 170 moves the conveyor plate 135 and its turntable 130, along with the potted plants, from the feeding position R1 to the working position R2 in the working area. The automatic conveying module 180 moves the conveyor plate 135 and its turntable 130, along with the potted plants, from the working position R2 to the working position R3. The automatic discharging module 190 moves the conveyor plate 135 and its turntable 130, along with the potted plants, from the working position R3 in the working area to the discharging position R4. Figure 1 schematically illustrates the automatic feeding module 170, the automatic conveying module 180, and the automatic discharging module 190. Each of these modules may actually include a slide rail and a holding mechanism slidably mounted on the slide rail. The holding mechanism holds the conveyor tray 135 and moves along the slide rail by means of a cylinder or other type of power source to move the conveyor tray 135. In other embodiments, other types of mechanisms may be used to move the conveyor tray 135, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0029] In this embodiment, the image capturing device 110a of the image capturing module 110 performs the aforementioned image capturing operation on the potted plant at working position R2 in the working area to obtain the first image, and the image capturing device 110b of the image capturing module 110 performs the aforementioned image capturing operation on the potted plant at working position R2 in the working area to obtain the second image, while the robotic arm 150 inserts the support rod into the potted plant at working position R3 in the working area. That is, the image capturing devices 110a and 110b perform image capturing on the potted plant at the same working position R2, while the robotic arm 150 inserts the support rod into the potted plant at another working position R3. However, the present invention is not limited to this. In other embodiments, the image capturing device 110b of the image capturing module 110 may be modified to perform the aforementioned image capturing operation on the potted plant at working position R3 in the working area to obtain the second image. That is, the image capturing device 110b and the robotic arm 150 perform image capturing and support rod insertion operations on the potted plant at the same working position R3, while the image capturing device 110a performs image capturing on the potted plant at another working position R2. Alternatively, in other embodiments, the image capturing device 110a, the image capturing device 110b, and the robotic arm 150 can perform image capturing and support rod insertion operations on the potted plant at the same working position. That is, the working positions R2 and R3 in the embodiment shown in FIG1 are integrated into a single working position.

[0030] The following describes the operation flow of the automatic support rod insertion system 100 in Figure 1. Figures 8A to 8F illustrate the operation flow of the automatic support rod insertion system in Figure 1, wherein potted plants 50A to 50G are inserted into the support rod in the same manner in sequence. The following description will take the insertion of the support rod by potted plant 50D as an example. First, the automatic feeding module 170 moves the potted plant 50D from the feeding position R1 shown in Figure 1 to the working position R2 shown in Figure 8A. The image capturing device 110a captures an image of the potted plant 50D at the working position R2 as shown in Figure 8A to obtain the first image. The turntable 130 corresponding to the potted plant 50D rotates the potted plant 50D according to the first information, so that the image capturing device 110b is adapted to capture an image of the potted plant 50D as shown in Figure 8B to obtain the second image. The automatic conveying module 180 moves the potted plant 50D from the working position R2 shown in Figure 8B to the working position R3 shown in Figure 8C. As shown in FIG8C, the robotic arm 150 grips the support rod 60 according to the support rod insertion information, and as shown in FIG8D, the robotic arm 150 moves the gripped support rod 60 to the image capturing device 110c to correct the tilt of the support rod 60. Following the support rod insertion trajectory in the support rod insertion information as shown in FIG8E, and with the assistance of the image capturing device 110d, the robotic arm 150 inserts the support rod 60 into the potted plant 50D. The automatic discharging module 190 moves the potted plant 50D, which has completed the support rod insertion operation at the working position R3 shown in FIG8E, to the discharging position R4 shown in FIG8F.

[0031] Figure 9 illustrates the automatic support rod insertion system of Figure 1 integrated into the potted plant conveying system. Referring to Figure 9, the automatic support rod insertion system 100 of this embodiment can be integrated with the potted plant conveying system 200 used to transport potted plants in a potted plant factory. Since different potted plant factories have different specifications of potted plant conveying systems 200, the automatic support rod insertion system 100 and the potted plant conveying system 200 of this embodiment can be connected through a dedicated transfer conveying module 300, allowing potted plants to be smoothly transferred between the automatic support rod insertion system 100 and the potted plant conveying system 200 via automatic transfer conveying through the transfer conveying module 300, achieving a fully automated operation mode. The operator shown in the figure manually uses clips to fix the flower stem to the support rod after the automatic support rod insertion system has inserted the support rod into the flowerpot.

[0032] Figures 10 and 11 illustrate the automatic support rod system of Figure 9 and the potted plant conveying system being matched with each other in different numbers. This invention does not limit the number of automatic support rod systems 100 and potted plant conveying systems 200 that are matched together. For example, as shown in Figure 10, two automatic support rod systems 100 can be matched with four potted plant conveying systems 200, wherein two potted plant conveying systems 200 are integrated into one automatic support rod system 100 through a transfer conveying module 300, and the other two potted plant conveying systems 200 are integrated into another automatic support rod system 100 through another transfer conveying module 300. Alternatively, as shown in Figure 11, three automatic support rod systems 100 can be matched with three potted plant conveying systems 200, wherein each potted plant conveying system 200 is integrated into one automatic support rod system 100 through a transfer conveying module 300.

[0033] In summary, in the automatic support rod insertion system of the present invention, the processing unit determines the number and length of support rods suitable for the potted plant based on the image of the potted plant captured by the image capturing module, and determines the insertion trajectory and position of the support rods when the robotic arm performs the insertion operation. Furthermore, the potted plant can be positioned so that its predetermined image-capturing side faces the image capturing module via the rotation of the turntable, allowing the image capturing module to successfully capture the image of the potted plant and ensuring that its predetermined support rod side faces or is away from the robotic arm, enabling the robotic arm to smoothly insert the support rods into the appropriate positions on the potted plant. Therefore, the automatic support rod insertion system of the present invention can replace the traditional manual method, efficiently and automatically performing support rod insertion operations on potted plants.

[0034] 100: Automatic support rod insertion system 110: Image Capture Module 110a: First image capturing device 110b: Second image capturing device 110c: Third image capturing device 110d: Fourth Image Capture Device 120: Processing Unit 130: Turntable 135: Conveyor tray 140: Support rod supply module 140a~140g: Support rod supply device 150: Robotic Arm 160: Control Unit 170: Automatic feeding module 180: Automatic conveyor module 190: Automatic material unloading module 200: Potted Plant Delivery System 300: Transfer Conveying Module 50A~50G: Potted plants 52: Leaves 54: Flower stalk 56: Flowerpot 60: Support rod A: Minor axis direction P, P': Position R1: Feed position R2, R3: Work positions R4: Discharge position S1: First side S2: Second side X, Y, Z: Axial axes

Claims

1. An automatic support rod insertion system for inserting support rods into a potted plant, the potted plant comprising at least one leaf and at least one flower stalk, the automatic support rod insertion system comprising: An image capturing module for capturing at least one image of the potted plant; a processing unit coupled to the image capturing module for obtaining potted plant information based on the at least one image, and for determining support rod information based on the potted plant information, wherein the potted plant information includes the position of at least one leaf and the position, number, and length of at least one flower stalk, and the support rod information includes the number of support rods, the length of the support rods, the trajectory of the support rods, and the position of the support rods; a turntable for carrying the potted plant, wherein the turntable is rotated according to the potted plant information to change the orientation of the potted plant; and a support rod supply module for supplying at least one support rod. A robotic arm, coupled to the processing unit, is used to grip at least one support rod from the support rod supply module according to the support rod insertion information and insert the at least one support rod into the potted plant; and a control unit, coupled to the support rod supply module, the robotic arm and the turntable and used to control the support rod supply module, the robotic arm and the turntable to operate in coordination, wherein the support rod supply module can supply one support rod at a preset position for the robotic arm to grip at a fixed position.

2. The automatic support rod insertion system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one image includes a first image and a second image, the potted plant information includes first information and second information, the image capturing module is used to capture the first image above the potted plant and to capture the second image in front of the potted plant, the processing unit is used to obtain the first information based on the first image and to obtain the second information based on the second image, the first information includes the position of the at least one leaf and the position and number of the at least one flower stalk, and the second information includes the position and length of the flower stalk.

3. The automatic support rod insertion system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the image capturing module includes a first image capturing device and a second image capturing device, the first image capturing device being used to capture the first image above the potted plant, and the second image capturing device being used to capture the second image in front of the potted plant.

4. The automatic support rod insertion system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the turntable is rotated according to the first information to orient a predetermined image-capturing side of the bonsai toward the image-capturing module.

5. The automatic support rod insertion system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the turntable is configured to rotate according to the first information so that a predetermined support rod of the potted plant faces or is turned away from the robotic arm.

6. The automatic support rod insertion system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the turntable is configured to rotate according to the first information to position a predetermined support rod of the potted plant in a specific direction relative to the robotic arm to avoid collision with the support rod on the potted plant.

7. The automatic support rod insertion system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the processing unit is configured to determine the support rod insertion information based on the first information and the second information.

8. The automatic support rod insertion system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the support rod supply module includes a plurality of support rod supply devices for supplying support rods of different lengths.

9. The automatic support rod insertion system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the image capturing module is further configured to capture an image of a support rod head of the at least one support rod being gripped by the robotic arm, and the control unit is configured to determine the degree of tilt of the support rod based on the support rod head image and thereby correct the operation of the robotic arm.

10. The automatic support rod insertion system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the image acquisition module includes a two-dimensional camera or a three-dimensional camera.

11. The automatic support rod insertion system as claimed in claim 1 further includes a working area, an automatic feeding module and an automatic discharging module, wherein the image capturing module is used to capture at least one image of the potted plant in the working area, the robotic arm is used to insert at least one support rod into the potted plant in the working area, the automatic feeding module is used to move the potted plant to the working area, and the automatic discharging module is used to move the potted plant away from the working area.

Images