토마토 수확 자동화 로봇을 위한 꼭지 절단 메커니즘 설계

Abstract

Modern agriculture is increasingly adopting smart farming systems to ensure stable crop production under rapidly changing climate conditions. However, even in smart farms, harvesting crops like tomatoes remains a labor-intensive task, leading to challenges in labor availability and productivity due to rising labor costs and the avoidance of physically demanding work. Although various automated harvesting systems have been developed, a precise end-effector capable of removing the tomato’s distal pedicel, which is essential for maintaining marketable quality, has not yet been realized. In this study, we propose a novel distal pedicel-cutting mechanism based on a 3D iris dome structure. The required cutting force was determined by cutting experiments for different stem regions with flat and v-shaped blade. A prototype was fabricated by 3D printer, and its cutting process was validated by finite elements method (FEM) simulation.