Autonomous Forest Rover for Precision Pine Resin Tapping
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Solution Overview
Problem
The collection of oleoresin from slash pine trees is labor-intensive and requires precise manual operations, lacking efficient automated technologies for tree identification and tapping.
Innovation Solution
An autonomous robotic forest rover equipped with an industrial robot, tools, vision and navigation systems, and a high-efficiency powertrain for identifying and tapping mature slash pine trees, performing borehole drilling, spraying, and collecting oleoresin autonomously.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual tapping operations are used, then flexibility and adaptability are maintained, but labor intensity increases and productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic system performs tapping operations autonomously without continuous human intervention. The robot identifies trees, positions itself, drills boreholes, inserts tubes, and caps holes automatically, enabling the system to serve itself and eliminating the need for manual labor in each tapping operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical operations with an automated robotic system equipped with specialized tools. The robot uses a drill bit for borehole creation, a tube insertion mechanism for tube placement, and a capping mechanism for sealing holes, substituting human mechanical actions with automated mechanical systems.
2Manufacturing precision
If precise borehole alignment is required, then oleoresin collection efficiency improves, but operation complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic system uses sensors and vision systems to detect tree trunk positions and dimensions in real-time. This feedback information is used to dynamically adjust the robot's positioning and drilling parameters, ensuring precise borehole alignment without requiring complex pre-calculations or manual measurements.
Solution Approach 2:
The robotic system integrates multiple functions into a single platform: tree identification, navigation, positioning, drilling, tube insertion, and capping. This multi-functional approach reduces overall system complexity compared to using separate specialized equipment for each operation.
3Productivity
If automated robotic systems are implemented, then productivity increases and labor requirements decrease, but device complexity and initial cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic tapping system is divided into modular functional components: a mobile platform for navigation, a manipulator arm for tool positioning, specialized tools for drilling and tube insertion, and sensor systems for tree identification. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently and simplifies maintenance and upgrades.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines multiple tapping operations (drilling, tube insertion, capping) into a single automated robotic workflow. The robot performs all these operations sequentially on each tree without human intervention, merging what would traditionally require multiple manual steps into one integrated automated process.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided are robotic systems and methods for identifying a particular type of tree or plant (e.g., slash pine trees), for tapping them and collect their oleoresin for processing using an autonomous, long-range robotic forest rover. One aspect of the system comprises an autonomous vehicle equipped with an industrial robot, automated tool changer, a plurality of tools required for robotic operations, vision and navigation systems and powertrain for long-range operation. The rover identifies healthy, mature trees or plants, approaches them and performs the robotic operations required for tapping the trees or plants. In addition to these tasks, the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) coordinates of the tree or plant is recorded along with its diameter, and a digital image of the tree or plant. This information is communicated to a base station for creating and updating a tree farm database.