By Byron Spice
Farmers might be able to get help tending and harvesting crops using a new sensing technology from Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute (RI).
Researchers invented a tool called SonicBoom that can find crops like apples based on the sound they make. The novel technology, still in the early stages of development, may someday be used by farm robots for tasks like pruning vines or locating ripe apples hidden among the leaves.
“Even without a camera, this sensing technology could determine the 3D shape of things just by touching,” said Moonyoung (Mark) Lee, a fifth-year Ph.D. student in robotics.
The device might be the answer to a manipulation problem that has long befuddled agricultural robotics researchers.
Source : cmu.edu