The research and development of "Tea Picking Robot" helps the sustainable development of the tea industry

In recent years, the aging trend of the domestic agricultural labor force has significantly intensified, and the difficulty in recruiting and expensive labor has become a bottleneck restricting the development of the tea industry

Tea recognition based on image processing has become a research and development hotspot

To realize automatic tea picking, the first thing that must be solved is the accurate identification of tea buds

The traditional image processing algorithm based on color space has obvious color difference between tea sprouts and old leaves and tree trunks.

Identification method based on traditional machine learning In order to further solve the problem that tea segmentation is easily affected by external environments such as old leaves, branches, and soil under natural conditions, as well as the mutual occlusion and overlap of tea leaves, machine learning methods are introduced in subsequent research.

Recognition method based on deep learning The algorithm based on deep learning has high accuracy under complex background, which provides a basis for the research on intelligent tea bud picking equipment under complex background

End-picking actuators and intelligent control systems make progress

The picking objects of tea are buds and leaves rather than fruits, and traditional end-picking actuators are difficult to apply.

The functions of the intelligent control system mainly include the control of the driving system and the control of the picking device

Flexible end picking and its efficient control system become the future research and development direction

At present, the research on high-end and famous tea picking machines at home and abroad has just started, and it is still in the stage of conceptual prototype testing.

Increase the sample data, develop the recognition model, and improve the effect of the algorithm.

To develop a flexible end-picking actuator with tolerance capability, tea sprouts are soft in texture, and conventional end-picking actuators are easy to cause damage to the sprouts

The research and development of multi-end picking actuator and its high-efficiency control system In response to the requirements of light, flexible and high-speed tea picking robotic arms, the end-picking actuator and its control system for tea picking can be realized through lightweight structure design and corresponding motion control algorithms

　　(Li Yang, Dong Chunwang, Chen Jianneng, Jia Jiangming)

　　"China Food News" (07 edition on August 10, 2022)

　　(Editor-in-charge: Yuan Guofeng)