Compact robotic gripper with tandem actuation for selective fruit harvesting

Abstract: Selective fruit harvesting is a challenging manipulation problem due to occlusions and clutter arising from plant foliage. A harvesting gripper should i) have a small cross-section, to avoid collisions while approaching the fruit; ii) have a soft and compliant grasp to adapt to different fruit geometry and avoid bruising it; and iii) be capable of rigidly holding the fruit tightly enough to counteract detachment forces. Previous work on fruit harvesting has primarily focused on using grippers with a single actuation mode, either suction or fingers. In this paper we present a compact robotic gripper that combines the benefits of both. The gripper first uses an array of compliant suction cups to gently attach to the fruit. After attachment, telescoping cam-driven fingers deploy, sweeping obstacles away before pivoting inwards to provide a secure grip on the fruit for picking. We present and analyze the finger design for both ability to sweep clutter and maintain a tight grasp. Specifically, we use a motorized test bed to measure grasp strength for each actuation mode (suction, fingers, or both). We apply a tensile force at different angles (0{\deg}, 15{\deg}, 30{\deg} and 45{\deg}), and vary the point of contact between the fingers and the fruit. We observed that with both modes the grasp strength is approximately 40 N. We use an apple proxy to test the gripper's ability to obtain a grasp in the presence of occluding apples and leaves, achieving a grasp success rate over 96% (with an ideal controller). Finally, we validate our gripper in a commercial apple orchard.