Development of a Novel Biomimetic Mechanical Hand Based on Physical Characteristics of Apples

Meirong Wang, Bin Yan, Sihao Zhang, Pan Fan, Pengzong Zeng, Shuaiqi Shi and Fuzeng Yang ()
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Meirong Wang: College of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China
Bin Yan: College of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China
Sihao Zhang: College of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China
Pan Fan: College of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China
Pengzong Zeng: College of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China
Shuaiqi Shi: College of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China
Fuzeng Yang: College of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China

Agriculture, 2022, vol. 12, issue 11, 1-34

Abstract: For the purpose of minimizing the damage to apples during the operation of an apple-picking robot, improving the stability of an apple-harvesting mechanical hand and reducing the use and operation cost of the robot, a novel biomimetic apple mechanical hand based on negative pressure air suction is purposely designed based on the physical characteristics of apples by imitating octopus predation. The mechanical hand has four suction cups evenly distributed in the hand, which produce concave deformation under negative vacuum pressure to fit the apple surface and adsorb the apple; the fruit stalk is separated by wrist rotation and dragging in a compound way to complete the picking operation. This paper firstly determines the key parameters of the mechanical hand based on the characteristics of silicone material and the three growth postures of apples, tries to make a physical prototype of the mechanical hand and conducts relevant performance tests on the picking platform built in the laboratory to explore the best combination of parameters and further optimize the manipulator. The results show that the success rate of the biomimetic nondestructive apple picker with the best combination of parameters is 100%, 76% and 68% for three different apple-growth postures and the operation is smooth, reliable, safe and non-invasive.

Keywords: harvesting robot; biomimetic mechanical hand; physical characteristics; apple; tissue damaging (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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