Research on system integration and control methods of an apple-picking robot in unstructured environment

Purpose The purpose of this article is to solve the issue that apple-picking robots are easily interfered by branches or other apples near the target apple in an unstructured environment, leading to grasping failure and apple damage. Design/methodology/approach This study introduces the system units of the apple-picking robot prototype, proposes a method to determine the apple-picking direction via 3D point cloud data and optimizes the path planning method according to the calculated picking direction. Findings After the field experiments, the average deviation of the calculated picking direction from the desired angle was 11.81°, the apple picking success rate was 82% and the picking cycle was 11.1 s. Originality/value This paper describes a picking control method for an apple-picking robot that can improve the success and reliability of picking in an unstructured environment and provides a basis for automated and mechanized picking in the future.