Development of mobile eggplant grading robot for dynamic in-field variability sensing: Manufacture of robot and performance test

A machine vision-based mobile eggplant grading robot was developed as a model to sense and log essential data needed for precision farming and traceability of agricultural crops. The robot consisted of battery railcar, trailer, grading mechanisms including manipulator, end-effector, machine vision and divider. Manually operated, the robot moved along crop ridges during the harvesting process with the grading mechanisms all mounted on the trailer. The robot sensed and logged the field spatial variability dynamically by grading manually harvested eggplant fruit of individual tree. This paper presents the details of manufactured robot and results of the performance test conducted. Test results showed that the robot was feasible for field spatial variability sensing in greenhouse.