KR20190064211A - Harvesting robot for agriculture - Google Patents

Abstract

According to an embodiment of the present invention, an agricultural harvesting robot for harvesting fruits and vegetables comprises: a camera for photographing fruits and vegetables; an object recognizing unit for detecting the fruits/vegetables from an image photographed by the camera; a vacuum suction unit for gripping the detected fruit/vegetable using a suction force; and a laser beam irradiating unit for outputting a laser beam and cutting a stem connected to the gripped fruit/vegetable.

Description

Harvesting robot for agriculture

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a harvesting robot, and more particularly, to a harvesting robot which can be used for agriculture.

As the national income has increased, the consumption of agricultural products has been advanced and diversified, and the demand for agricultural products has been steadily increasing as the total population has increased. On the other hand, in order to meet the steadily growing demand for agricultural products, the place where agricultural products are produced is also transformed into a large scale, so that it is essential to produce agricultural products with efficient working performance in order to mass produce agricultural products.

As a result, since the development of modern industrial robots, robots have begun to be introduced in the field of agriculture, and researches on robots in agriculture are being actively carried out.

In particular, among the agricultural products, fruit and vegetables are harvested from fruit and vegetables, accounting for more than 45% of the total labor dosage. Automating harvesting fruits and vegetables through agricultural harvesting robots can greatly reduce labor force, The cost for producing fruit vegetables can be greatly reduced.

However, unlike industrial robots, agricultural harvesting robots must be able to cope with environmental changes. In addition, they are thin and have a thin contact surface. Therefore, it is very difficult to develop automation because it is very difficult to handle due to the physical characteristics of the adhesive.

Korean Patent Registration No. KR 10-0784830 (registered on December 5, 2007)

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an agricultural harvesting robot which is capable of harvesting fruit and vegetables, while reducing production costs, without causing scratches.

An agricultural harvesting robot according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a robot for harvesting fruit and vegetable leaves, a camera for photographing the fruit and vegetables, an object recognition unit for detecting fruits and vegetables from the image photographed by the camera, a vacuum And a laser beam irradiating unit for outputting a laser beam and cutting a stem connected to the grasped finger.

The laser beam irradiating unit may include a laser beam generator for generating a laser beam to be irradiated and a laser beam reflecting mirror for reflecting the generated laser beam and adjusting a reflection angle of the laser beam to vary the laser beam irradiation angle to cut the stem .

The laser beam irradiating unit is connected to the rotating shaft, and can cut the stem by changing the laser beam irradiation angle by rotation of the rotating shaft.

The vacuum suction unit may include a suction pad attached to the surface of the iron plate, and a suction generator connected to the suction pad and applying a suction force to the iron plate through the suction pad.

And a harvesting object determining unit that detects the growth state of the fruit and vegetable detected by the object recognizing unit and determines the fruit or vegetable corresponding to the harvesting object.

The control unit may further include a control unit for calculating the center of gravity of the vein detected by the object recognition unit, determining the surface of the vein nearest to the center of gravity of the vein, and controlling the vacuum suction unit to vacuum suction the surface of the vein nearest to the center of gravity have.

The agricultural harvesting robot according to an embodiment of the present invention can cut a stem connected to an apple tree by using a laser beam without applying pressure to the apple tree and can prevent the apple tree from being scratched and harvest the apple tree with the best quality.

Further, the agricultural harvesting robot according to an embodiment of the present invention can save production costs by gripping the fruit and vegetable hatches through the vacuum suction unit without complicated gripping parts.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where an agricultural harvesting robot according to an embodiment of the present invention is coupled to a frame of a plastic house.
Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the agricultural harvesting robot shown in Fig. 1. Fig.
Fig. 3 is a sectional view showing the agricultural harvesting robot shown in Fig. 1. Fig.
4 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a vacuum suction unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a perspective view illustrating a laser beam irradiating unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a block diagram of an agricultural harvesting robot according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7A to 7C are operation diagrams of the agricultural harvesting robot shown in Fig.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings in which: FIG. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein.

Hereinafter, an agricultural harvesting robot 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an agricultural harvesting robot according to an embodiment of the present invention coupled to a frame of a vinyl house, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the agricultural harvesting robot shown in FIG. 1, Sectional view showing the agricultural harvesting robot shown in Fig.

5 is a perspective view illustrating a laser beam irradiating unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a vacuum suction unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram of harvesting robots.

1 to 6, an agricultural harvesting robot 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an agricultural pick-up robot 2 without holding the agricultural pick-up 2 in a state of gripping the agricultural pick-up 2 so as not to be scratched, To be harvested.

1 to 6, an agricultural harvesting robot 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is described as being configured to move along a rail 10 coupled to a vinyl house frame 1, But is not limited to the configuration. That is, the agricultural harvesting robot 100 may be configured to move on the ground including the wheel, or may be configured to fly over the public and harvest the picket fence 2.

1 to 6, an agricultural harvesting robot 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a body 110, a camera 120, a vacuum suction unit 130, a laser beam irradiating unit 140, Unit 150 and a control unit 160. [0031]

The body 110 may be, for example, a robot arm that can be freely driven in three axes of X, Y, and Z axes. In addition, the length of the body 110 can be adjusted, so that the distance between the agricultural harvesting robot 100 and the picket hairs 2 can be adjusted. However, the body 110 is not limited to the robot arm, but may be a simple structure of a cylinder or pipe.

One end of the body 110 is composed of a traveling part 111, and can be moved in the X and Y axes. The running unit 111 may be, for example, a guide slidingly coupled with the rail. When the traveling unit 111 is configured as a guide, the body 110 can move stably along the rails. At this time, the traveling unit 111 may include a magnetic body, and may be transferred in a state of being attached to the rail by a magnetic force.

As another example, the running portion may be a pair of wheels that support the body 110 and can run on the ground. In this case, the body 110 can be moved in the X and Y axes by the rotation of the wheel, so that the fruit 2 can be harvested. In addition, the rotation direction and the rotation speed of the pair of wheels can be independently controlled so that the body 110 can be moved and changed efficiently even in a small radius.

The camera 120 is connected to the body 110 and is capable of photographing or capturing an ambient environment including the pick-up 2. The camera 120 may be, for example, a CCD (charge-coupled device) camera that converts an image into an electrical signal using a charge coupled device and stores the digital data in a storage medium. However, the type of the camera 120 is not limited thereto.

Also, the camera 120 may be a PTZ camera connected to the tilt driver and the fan driver. The camera 120 is tilted by the tilt driving unit and is rotated by the fan by the fan driving unit to fix the focus to the subject.

The vacuum suction unit 130 uses the vacuum suction force to grip the interchangeable fastener 2. The vacuum suction unit 130 makes contact with the binder 2 using the information of the binder 2 area detected from the object recognition unit 150 and grasps the binder 2.

The vacuum suction unit 130 may include a suction pad 131 attached to the surface of the adhesive and a vacuum generator 130 connected to the suction pad 131 to apply a suction force to the adhesive 2 via the suction pad 131. [ (132). However, the adsorption pad 131 may be omitted if necessary.

The adsorption pad 131 is made of an elastic material and can be attached so as not to be scratched due to the cushion. As shown in the drawing, the number of the adsorption pads 131 is not limited to one, and the adsorption pads 131 may include a plurality of adsorption pads 131, and may apply suction force from a plurality of gripping points to grip the transfuse 2.

In addition, a hole may be formed in the center region so that the suction pad 131 can transmit a suction force to the tablet 2.

The vacuum generator 132 is configured to generate a vacuum suction force for gripping the binder 2 and transmits a suction force to the adhesive 2 via the suction pad 131. The vacuum generator 132 is connected to the controller 160 and can be controlled so as to provide a suction force when the adsorption pad 131 is brought into contact with the transporter 2.

The vacuum generator 132 may include a motor 1321 assembly including a motor 1321 and a motor housing 1322 surrounding the motor 1321 and discharging air. When the inside of the motor 1321 is changed to a vacuum state by the rotation of the motor 1321, the motor 1321 provides a suction force to the inner needle 2 via the suction pad 131. In this case, the sucked air passes through the inside of the motor 1321, and the air is discharged to the outside of the motor 1321 through the motor air outlet 1321a and the motor housing air outlet 1322a.

The rotational speed of the motor 1321 may be controlled by the controller 160 and may control the suction force of the vacuum generator 132 through the controller 160. The suction force of the vacuum generator 132 can be adjusted by the controller 160 so that the suction force of the vacuum generator 132 can be adjusted to an intensity enough to grasp the adhesive 2 without damaging it.

As another example, the vacuum generator 132 may be constituted by a vacuum pump providing a suction force. In this case, the vacuum pump may be any one selected from a reciprocating type, a rotary type, a bar type, a confident type, and an ejector type.

However, the vacuum generator 132 is not limited to this, and includes all means capable of providing a suction force to the plug 2.

The laser beam irradiating unit 140 grasps the interlaced material 2 through the vacuum generator 132 and then irradiates the laser beam L onto the strand 3 connected to the interlaced material 2 to burn out the stem 3, (2) to be harvested.

The laser beam irradiating unit 140 may include a laser beam generator 141 and a laser beam reflecting mirror 142 to irradiate the laser beam L to the stem 3 at various angles.

The laser beam generator 141 generates a laser beam L and irradiates the laser beam L on a linear axis toward the reflection mirror. The laser beam L irradiated by the laser beam generator 141 has an output intensity sufficient to remove the stem 3 of the adhesive 2 and the output intensity can be adjusted by the control unit 160 . Further, the output focus of the laser beam generator 141 can also be adjusted by the control unit 160. [

The laser beam reflection mirror 142 can adjust the irradiation angle for reflecting the laser beam L to irradiate the laser beam L. [ The laser beam reflection mirror 142 may include, for example, an X-axis mirror and a Y-axis mirror. The X-axis mirror and the Y-axis mirror can be respectively rotated in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction. The laser beam L is irradiated with the laser beam L according to the degree of rotation of the laser beam reflection mirror 142, Can be adjusted. In this case, the degree of rotation of each of the laser beam reflection mirrors 142 can be adjusted by the control unit 160. [

Each of the laser beam reflection mirrors 142 may be connected to a different drive motor 1321 and rotated. The driving motor 1321 is connected to the controller 160 to rotate the driving motor 1321 connected to the laser beam reflecting mirror 142 to achieve the set laser beam irradiation angle, Can be determined.

The laser beam irradiation unit 140 may include a rotation axis connected to the laser beam generator 141 and the laser beam generator 141 as another example. The laser beam generator 141 has the same configuration as the laser beam generator 141 described above. However, the laser beam generator 141 is rotated by the rotation axis and can adjust the laser beam irradiation angle. In this case, the rotation axis can be controlled by the control unit 160. [

The object recognizing unit 150 is connected to the camera 120 and recognizes and detects the object 2 with the image photographed from the camera 120. [ The image photographed from the camera 120 not only includes a plurality of fruit and vegetables 2 but also the surrounding environment such as the stem 3 and the leaf are displayed as well as the object recognition unit 150 distinguishes the fruit 2 and the surrounding environment can do. In addition, the object recognizing unit 150 can recognize each of the plural bonds 2 and acquire each individual image.

The object recognizing unit 150 uses the color information of the image acquired by the camera 120 as an example, and distinguishes the area of the image 2. That is, the color information of the interchange 2 is inputted to the control unit 160 to distinguish colors other than the color information of the inputted interchange 2, Can be identified.

Also, the object recognizing unit 150 can individually store each finger 2 in a plurality of identified fingerprint (2) areas of the obtained image.

The control unit 160 controls the vacuum suction unit 130 and the laser beam irradiation unit 140 as an example. The control unit 160 can control the suction position of the vacuum suction unit 130 so that each detected finger 2 can be sucked into the vacuum suction unit 130 and can control the suction position of the vacuum suction unit 130 As shown in Fig. The control unit 160 adjusts the intensity of the laser beam generated by the laser beam generator 141 and adjusts the irradiation angle of the laser beam so that the iris 2 can be harvested without scratches.

As another example, the control unit 160 may calculate the center of gravity of the fruit and vegetable 2 detected by the object recognition unit 150. [ The control unit 160 calculates the center of gravity of the donkey 2 by extracting the outline of the donkey 2 and obtaining the action point of the resultant force of gravity acting on each part of the donkey 2 from the outline information. The control unit 160 calculates the center of gravity of the binder 2 and then extracts a region having the closest distance to the center of gravity of the binder 2 when the vacuum suction unit 130 grasps the binder 2, And the region of the closest distance to the center is controlled to be gripped by the vacuum suction unit 130 so that the adhesive 2 can be stably attracted.

The agricultural harvesting robot 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include a harvesting object determining unit 170. [ The harvesting object determining unit 170 is a module for determining the growing state of the agricultural and horticultural crops 2. The harvesting object determining unit 170 detects the growing state of the agricultural herbs 2 detected by the object recognizing unit 150, And transmits the determination result to the control unit 160. In this case, the control unit 160 can control the vacuum suction unit 130 and the laser beam irradiation unit 140 so as to harvest only the fruit and vegetable 2 corresponding to the harvesting object.

The information on the growth state of the fruit and vegetable 2 can be determined by comparing the color information inputted by the user through the color information of the fruit and vegetable 2, for example. In the case of the melody (2), the color distribution region of melon is classified based on the degree of darkness of yellow, and the region having darker yellow than the color information inputted by the user is distinguished. When the ratio of the total area occupied by the area having a deep yellow is higher than the ratio inputted by the user, the harvesting object determining unit 170 can determine that the growing state of the agricultural product 2 corresponds to the harvesting object.

In the agricultural harvesting robot 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention configured as described above, the operation of grasping and harvesting the fruit tree 2 will be described. The same reference numerals are used for the same components as in Figs. 1 to 6, and a repetitive description thereof will be omitted.

7A to 7C are operation diagrams of the agricultural harvesting robot shown in Fig.

7A, after the object recognizing unit 150 detects the tag 2 from the image photographed by the camera 120, the control unit 160 controls the agricultural harvesting robot 100 to detect the tag 2, Thereby bringing the body 110 of the apparatus 100 closer.

Next, referring to FIG. 7B, the body 110 of the agricultural harvesting robot 100 is brought into proximity with the binder 2, and then the adsorption pad 131 of the vacuum suction unit 130 is brought into contact with the binder 2. The area contacted with the adhesive 2 may be an area calculated by the control part 160, which may be an area closest to the center of gravity of the adhesive 2. When the suction pad 131 of the vacuum suction unit 130 contacts the inner panel 2, the vacuum generator 132 generates a suction force to apply the suction force to the inner panel 2 to grip the inner panel 2. The suction force of the tablet 2 can be adjusted by the controller 160 so that the tablet 2 can be grasped in a state in which the tablet 2 is not damaged by the suction force of the tablet 2. [

The laser beam irradiating part 140 irradiates the laser beam L to the stem 3 connected to the inner needle 2 to draw the stem 3 to cut the inner needle 2 can do. The stem 3 connected to the needle 2 can be grasped by the object recognition unit 150 and irradiate the stem 3 with a laser beam L to a region near the needle 2, Can be cut. The irradiation angle of the laser beam irradiating unit 140 is controlled by the controller 160 so that the stem 3 can be appropriately removed.

7C, when the stem 3 connected to the fruit stick 2 is removed by the laser beam irradiating unit 140, the body 110 is positioned in place, so that the fruit stick 2 is simple, It is possible to harvest the seeds.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, Of the right.

1: vinyl house frame, 10: rail,
100: Agricultural harvesting robot, 110: Body,
120: camera, 130: vacuum suction part,
131: absorption pad, 1321: motor,
1322: motor housing, 132: vacuum generator,
140: laser beam irradiation part, 141: laser beam generator,
142: laser beam reflection mirror, 150: object recognition unit,
160: control unit, 170: harvesting object discrimination unit

Claims (6)

In robots harvesting fruit and vegetables,
A camera for capturing an image;
An object recognizing unit for detecting an image and an image from the image photographed by the camera;
A vacuum suction unit for gripping the fruit tag detected using the suction force;
And a laser beam irradiating unit for outputting a laser beam to cut a stem connected to the grip.
The method according to claim 1,
The laser beam irradiating unit,
A laser beam generator for generating a laser beam to be irradiated; And
And a laser beam reflection mirror for reflecting the generated laser beam and adjusting the reflection angle of the laser beam to vary the laser beam irradiation angle to cut the stem.
The method according to claim 1,
The laser beam irradiating unit is connected to the rotating shaft, and the stem is cut by changing the irradiation angle of the laser beam by rotating the rotating shaft. The method according to claim 1,
The vacuum suction unit,
An adsorption pad attached to the surface of the adhesive and the adhesive;
And a suction generator connected to the adsorption pad and applying a suction force to the adhesive agent through the adsorption pad.
The method according to claim 1,
And a harvesting object determining unit for detecting a growth state of the fruit and vegetable detected by the object recognizing unit and determining an agricultural fruit corresponding to the harvesting object.
The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a control unit for calculating the center of gravity of the vein detected by the target recognition unit and determining the surface of the vein nearest to the center of gravity of the vein and controlling the vacuum suction unit to vacuum suction the surface of the vein nearest to the center of gravity Harvesting robots.

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