Design of a Chili Pepper Harvesting Device for Hilly Chili Fields

To address issues such as leaf occlusion, misalignment of the harvesting robotic arm, and limited harvesting range in hillside chili fields, this paper designs an intelligent harvesting system based on 3D point cloud reconstruction and multi-mechanism collaborative leveling. The system integrates re...

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Main Authors: Weikang Han, Jialong Luo, Jiatao Wang, Qihang Gu, Liujun Lin, Yuan Gao, Hongru Chen, Kangya Luo, Zhixiong Zeng, Jie He
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-04-01
Series:Agronomy
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/15/5/1118
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author Weikang Han
Jialong Luo
Jiatao Wang
Qihang Gu
Liujun Lin
Yuan Gao
Hongru Chen
Kangya Luo
Zhixiong Zeng
Jie He
author_facet Weikang Han
Jialong Luo
Jiatao Wang
Qihang Gu
Liujun Lin
Yuan Gao
Hongru Chen
Kangya Luo
Zhixiong Zeng
Jie He
author_sort Weikang Han
collection DOAJ
description To address issues such as leaf occlusion, misalignment of the harvesting robotic arm, and limited harvesting range in hillside chili fields, this paper designs an intelligent harvesting system based on 3D point cloud reconstruction and multi-mechanism collaborative leveling. The system integrates real-time data from a LiDAR and IMU inertial navigation system to reconstruct the chili point cloud occluded by leaves from multiple perspectives. To address issues such as misalignment of the robotic arm caused by terrain undulations, the system integrates an adaptive leveling platform and an H-shaped planar slide, combined with a gyroscope to dynamically adjust the arm’s posture in real time, ensuring arm stability while expanding its workspace. In addition, to ensure harvesting efficiency and pepper integrity, an integrated cutting–gripping flexible end effector is designed to achieve synchronized cutting and collection operations. The experiment shows that the system achieves recognition accuracy of 81.95% for occluded chili peppers and 89.04% for non-occluded chili peppers. The harvesting success rate is 86.33%, with a single harvesting operation taking 13.17 s. During prolonged operation, the harvesting success rate can be maintained at approximately 85.1%. In summary, the intelligent harvesting system based on 3D point cloud reconstruction and multi-mechanism collaborative leveling provides a feasible solution for automated pepper harvesting.
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spelling doaj-art-984d8aca0d8a4f9cb2135e096fc9b7942025-08-20T03:14:29ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952025-04-01155111810.3390/agronomy15051118Design of a Chili Pepper Harvesting Device for Hilly Chili FieldsWeikang Han0Jialong Luo1Jiatao Wang2Qihang Gu3Liujun Lin4Yuan Gao5Hongru Chen6Kangya Luo7Zhixiong Zeng8Jie He9College of Engineering, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, ChinaCollege of Engineering, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, ChinaCollege of Engineering, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, ChinaCollege of Engineering, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, ChinaCollege of Mathematics and Informatics, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, ChinaCollege of Engineering, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, ChinaCollege of Mathematics and Informatics, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, ChinaCollege of Engineering, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, ChinaCollege of Engineering, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, ChinaHuangpu Innovation Research Institute, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, ChinaTo address issues such as leaf occlusion, misalignment of the harvesting robotic arm, and limited harvesting range in hillside chili fields, this paper designs an intelligent harvesting system based on 3D point cloud reconstruction and multi-mechanism collaborative leveling. The system integrates real-time data from a LiDAR and IMU inertial navigation system to reconstruct the chili point cloud occluded by leaves from multiple perspectives. To address issues such as misalignment of the robotic arm caused by terrain undulations, the system integrates an adaptive leveling platform and an H-shaped planar slide, combined with a gyroscope to dynamically adjust the arm’s posture in real time, ensuring arm stability while expanding its workspace. In addition, to ensure harvesting efficiency and pepper integrity, an integrated cutting–gripping flexible end effector is designed to achieve synchronized cutting and collection operations. The experiment shows that the system achieves recognition accuracy of 81.95% for occluded chili peppers and 89.04% for non-occluded chili peppers. The harvesting success rate is 86.33%, with a single harvesting operation taking 13.17 s. During prolonged operation, the harvesting success rate can be maintained at approximately 85.1%. In summary, the intelligent harvesting system based on 3D point cloud reconstruction and multi-mechanism collaborative leveling provides a feasible solution for automated pepper harvesting.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/15/5/1118chili pepperLiDAR3D point cloud reconstructionadaptive leveling platformend effector
spellingShingle Weikang Han
Jialong Luo
Jiatao Wang
Qihang Gu
Liujun Lin
Yuan Gao
Hongru Chen
Kangya Luo
Zhixiong Zeng
Jie He
Design of a Chili Pepper Harvesting Device for Hilly Chili Fields
Agronomy
chili pepper
LiDAR
3D point cloud reconstruction
adaptive leveling platform
end effector
title Design of a Chili Pepper Harvesting Device for Hilly Chili Fields
title_full Design of a Chili Pepper Harvesting Device for Hilly Chili Fields
title_fullStr Design of a Chili Pepper Harvesting Device for Hilly Chili Fields
title_full_unstemmed Design of a Chili Pepper Harvesting Device for Hilly Chili Fields
title_short Design of a Chili Pepper Harvesting Device for Hilly Chili Fields
title_sort design of a chili pepper harvesting device for hilly chili fields
topic chili pepper
LiDAR
3D point cloud reconstruction
adaptive leveling platform
end effector
url https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/15/5/1118
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