By Jospeh Jones,
In mid-2012, four HV-100 robots from Harvest Automation achieved an elusive milestone in robotics: the robots were purchased by a customer and began everyday farm work. HV-100s, also known as Harvey robots, distribute and collect container-grown plants in greenhouses and on large nursery farms. Since their introduction, more growers have adopted Harveys, and to date, Harvey robots have moved well over three million plants.
The first crop robots to achieve commercial relevance are now entering service in the nursery and greenhouse sector of agriculture. Contrary to popular imagination, expert prediction, and much academic research, the first successful agricultural robots are engaged in activities other than fruit and vegetable picking or row crop maintenance. This article examines the forces that drive the choice of application for commercial robots, describes an early agricultural robot, and suggests areas for further development.
Harvey’s Function
In a typical spacing operation plants loaded on a wagon are pulled to an outdoor growing bed. A multi-tine forklift moves the closely packed plants to the ground en masse (pallets are not used). From here, the plants must be shifted into a regular pattern that gives them room to grow.
When workers perform the spacing task they often use a grid or other guide aligned with a cord stretched along the edge of the bed. The guide, marked with tape or paint spots, helps workers position plants accurately in the desired pattern. The guide is advanced down the bed as workers fill in the pattern.
When robots are used for spacing, a human “robot wrangler” first extends a special robot-detectable tape (called a boundary marker) along one edge of the bed. The wrangler then places at least one container downfield; this establishes the row where the robot will begin placing plants. Next the wrangler dials in certain parameters via the robot’s user interface. Parameters include the spacing pattern (rectangular versus hexagonal), the desired center-to-center distance between plants, and the bed width. Finally, the wrangler points the robot toward the source of plants and presses the start button.
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