Automated Fruit Thinning via Laser and Vision Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing thinning techniques for fruit trees, such as peach and nectarine, are inefficient and costly due to reliance on manual labor, which is labor-intensive, prone to inaccuracies, and not always available. Additionally, existing mechanical and chemical thinning methods lack precision and are not suitable for all crop varieties.
Innovation Solution
A system for controlling the thinning of plant reproductive structures that includes a processing unit and non-transitory media storing instructions to generate a thinning policy based on data analysis of strains/cultivars, geographical area, market preferences, and trade data. This system utilizes detection units such as cameras and sensors to calculate temporal reproductive structures densities and determine the optimal thinning policy, which can be implemented by mechanical or laser pruning units.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual thinning is used, then thinning precision and adaptability to market preferences are improved, but labor cost and time consumption increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical thinning with an automated robotic system equipped with vision-based detection and laser-based cutting. The robot uses cameras to detect fruit positions and laser beams to precisely remove excess fruit, eliminating the need for manual labor while maintaining high precision and adaptability to market preferences through programmable control algorithms.
Solution Approach 2:
The robotic thinning system performs self-navigation and self-operation through autonomous vision-based fruit detection and laser cutting. The system independently identifies target fruits, calculates optimal cutting paths, and executes thinning operations without human intervention, enabling continuous operation throughout the day regardless of labor availability.
2Productivity
If mechanical thinning is used, then thinning speed is improved, but thinning precision and adaptability to different varieties deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces conventional mechanical thinning equipment with an automated robotic system that uses vision-based detection and laser-based cutting. This substitution enables both high speed and high precision by using optical detection for accurate fruit positioning and laser beams for precise cutting, while the programmable control allows adaptation to different fruit varieties and market preferences.
Solution Approach 2:
The robotic system dynamically adjusts its operation parameters based on real-time vision-based detection of fruit positions, sizes, and distributions. The control algorithms adapt the laser cutting parameters and robot movement trajectories to match different fruit varieties and market requirements, enabling the system to maintain both speed and precision across various cultivation conditions.
3Ease of operation
If chemical thinning is used, then thinning operation simplicity is improved, but precision and suitability for all crop varieties deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces chemical thinning methods with an automated robotic system that uses vision-based detection and laser-based cutting. This substitution maintains operational simplicity through automated control while significantly improving precision through optical detection and laser targeting, and eliminates the limitation of chemical suitability by allowing precise physical removal of specific fruits regardless of variety.
4Reliability
If hand-thinning is used, then thinning predictability is improved, but labor cost and dependency on human availability increase
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic thinning system performs self-navigation and self-operation through autonomous vision-based fruit detection and laser cutting. The system independently identifies target fruits, calculates optimal cutting paths, and executes thinning operations without human intervention, ensuring consistent and predictable results while eliminating dependency on human labor availability and significantly improving overall efficiency.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system enables precise and efficient thinning operations that align with market preferences, maximizing profit by optimizing fruit size and density. It reduces labor costs and improves accuracy compared to manual methods, while being adaptable to varying growth conditions and tree structures.
Implementation Method 1
a laser beam cutting unit, controlled by the controller, to remove the excess reproductive structures
Data Source
AI summary
According to some aspects of the present invention a system for controlling thinning of plant reproductive structures (e.g., fruits and/or bloom) includes a processing unit; and a non-transitory media readable by the processing unit. The media storing instructions that when executed by the processing unit, cause the processing unit to generate a thinning policy based on analysis of data that may include one or more of the following: strains/cultivars, geographical area, topographic, soil, farming practice, climate, season, target market preferences, and trade. The thinning policy may include the determination of a desired reproductive structures density which may mean the rate (percent) of flowers/fruits to be removed and the distance between flowers/fruits. Typically, the density is related to the location of fruits/flowers. It can be spatial, linear, tree average, branch average, or average per unit length. The thinning policy may be determined according to strains/cultivars and geographic.