Advanced Technologies for Thinning of Tree Fruit -- Engineering Solutions Workshop, CMU

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1 Advanced Technologies for Thinning of Tree Fruit -- Engineering Solutions Workshop, CMU Paul Heinemann, Penn State Dept. of Ag & Biol. Engineering Tara Baugher, Penn State Extension

2 Multi-State Project WA IL PA CA MD WV SC

3 Partners involved: Penn State WSU UC-Davis Clemson U Maryland U Illinois USDA Extension Grower partners Other industry partners CMU (selective thinning)

4 Problem Statement Fruit thinning is a labor-intensive and expensive task; time and crew availability limitations often result in orchards not being thinned in an optimal way for maximum fruit quality

5 Why is fruit thinned? Crowding results in low quality, small fruit Thinning results in high quality, large fruit

6 Technology mechanized thinning Two levels of technology are being used for fruit thinning mechanization: Non-selective Selective

7 Non-selective thinners String thinners PT 250 Darwin 300

8 Drum shaker

9 Hand held string thinners From the Washington State investigators

10 Positioning issues

11 String thinner positioning making the work easier for the operator Two-tiered approach to controlled positioning Joystick control Sensor control

12 Joystick control E- Stop LED Indicator Lights Autonomy Controls Joystick for Tilt and Offset This is an interim step for providing easier manual positioning control

13 Controller adjusts the spindle accordingly Two degrees of motion: angle of spindle, lateral position of spindle

14 Modifications: Sonar sensors Thinner Moved to Rear SICK laser

15 hydraulics and controls added components: Lateral Offset Cylinder Tilt Cylinder Flow Divider Proportional Control Valves

16 Ultrasonic Sensing Arduino Microcontroller $65 4 Sonar Range Finders Maxbotix LV-MaxSonar-WR1 $100 Low Cost GPS USGlobalSat EM-406A GPS Module $60

17 Ultrasonically Sensed Position z Best Fit Line Sensor Distance Readings (dashed lines) x Orchard Row Sensor Mast y

18 Laser Sensing Trimble AG GPS 442 SICK LMS 120 Laser Rangefinder $ thousands

19 Automated positioning

20 Selective Thinning Select blossoms/small fruit to be removed for higher precision in thinning using machinery

21 Vision End effector Integrated unit Robotic arm Platform Components

22 Vision system Vision End effector Integrated unit Robotic arm Platform

23 Projected texture in : White Light 2010: Textured Light Credit: UC Davis 23

24 Xbox Kinect Credit: UC Davis 24

25 : Real-time acquisition Real-time Industrial Cameras Strobe Texture Illumination (reverse view camera ) Credit: UC Davis 25

26 Building the 3D Map of all Trees in a row from the Individual Sequences GPS (x,y,z) Lidar R-camera Θ Pattern strobe (or floodlight) VectorNAV (yaw,pitch, roll) L-camera Credit: UC Davis

27 Real-time 3D Tree and Blossom Mapping System GPS Lidar Right Camera Pattern Strobe Tilt Sensor Left Camera Credit: UC Davis 27

28 Normal Processing the LIDAR points Credit: UC Davis

29 3D StereoVision Blossom Mapping sec per image Credit: UC Davis 29

30 End effector Vision End effector Integrated unit Robotic arm Platform

31 Brush end effector fabricated Reuben Dise & David Lyons

32 End-Effector 2 nd Generation Brush End-Effector Improvements Electric powered Shorter Brushes Softer Brushes End-Effector 1st Generation Hand Gripper End-Effector

33 Brush end effector fabricated David Lyons

34 Counter-rotating brushes Open/close based on the position along branch

35 Robotics Vision End effector Integrated unit Robotic arm Platform

36 Could not gain external control of the Fanuc unit Fabricating components for lab unit

37 ¼ - scale robot designed and fabricated David Lyons

38 Results of Non-Selective Thinning Trials in 4 States New molded hollow cords tested in 2009

39 Before thinning Blossom Removal 35 to 50% After thinning

40 Follow-Up Hand Thinning $100 to $400/acre savings Hrs/ acre Treatments with different letters are significantly different at P=0.05

Flower Removal (%) California Molded Strings - 2 Rows - No Gaps - 2 mph 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 y = 0.614x - 36.883 R 2 = 0.9308 y = 0.588x - 46.533 R 2 = 0.9815 y = 0.

41 Flower Removal (%) California Molded Strings - 2 Rows - No Gaps - 2 mph y = 0.614x R 2 = y = 0.588x R 2 = y = 0.552x - 49 y = 0.788x - 82 R 2 = R 2 = 1 y = 0.588x R 2 = y = 0.528x R 2 = y = 0.436x R 2 = Spindle Rotation (rpm)

42 Percent Production South Carolina Fruit Size Distribution from Three Thinning Treatments in Nesstar Peaches Large Medium Control 220 rpm, 1.8 mph 200 rpm, 1.8mph Small

43 Washington

44 Pennsylvania % Flower Removal in Bloom Stage Trials

45 Pennsylvania % Flower Removal in Pruning Trials

46 Drum Shaker Trials - PA String thinner at bloom/drum shaker for green fruit thinning an effective combination New drum shaker at green fruit stage more consistent than previous citrus shaker prototypes Smaller rods, tilting drums, front or side-mount Tree damage still a problem

47 Thinning results from 2011 (controlled positioning) % blossoms thinned Upper canopy Lower canopy Scaffold Manually operated joystick 62.8 a 63.5 a 63.1 a Ultrasonic controlled positioning 49.7 a 35.4 b 43.7 b Laser controlled positioning 61.2 a 51.9 a 58.7 a Blossom density, flowers/cm 2 cross-sectional area Upper canopy Lower canopy Scaffold Manually operated joystick 3.9 a 1.3 a 3.6 a Ultrasonic controlled positioning 4.7 a 2.7 b 5.8 a Laser controlled positioning 4.7 a 1.9 a 4.8 a

48 Challenges and Limitations Non-selective thinners work well with stone fruit, but major challenges with pome fruit Selective thinning is an extremely complex task Locating branches, blossoms, 2-D and 3-D Mobility of robotic in field Cost of robotic approach Speed of activity

49 Economic Evaluations

Net Economic Impact Processing Peach Plantings $236 to $1490/acre Fresh Peach Plantings $185 to $934/acre Hand Thinned Blossom Thinned with String Thinner Labor savings and

50 Net Economic Impact Processing Peach Plantings $236 to $1490/acre Fresh Peach Plantings $185 to $934/acre Hand Thinned Blossom Thinned with String Thinner Labor savings and yield increases (due to larger fruit size) were of greater importance for canning peach growers Increased fruit size had a greater positive impact for fresh market producers

51 Technology Adoption Case Study Interviews 11 growers who had thinned a total of 154 acres Employees liked thinner - saved time/minimized ladder use Hand thinning completed earlier - more timely work in other crops 100% said hand thinning time reduced 80% said fruit were larger

52 Commercialization

53 Questions? Thank You! Funded by the USDA SCRI Program

The Pennsylvania State University. The Graduate School. Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering

The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF SELECTIVE AUTOMATED PEACH (PRUNUS PERSICA (L.) BATSCH) BLOSSOM