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Publication

SHIVAA - an Autonomous Strawberry Picking Robot for Open Fields

Janne Janzen; Christoph Stoeffler; Dimitrios Rakovitis; Heiner Peters; Mahdi Javadi; Sankaranarayanan Natarajan; Frank Kirchner
In: 1st German Robotics Conference. German Robotics Conference (GRC-2025), March 13-15, Nürnberg, Germany, n.n. 3/2025.

Abstract

Strawberries, known for their fragile nature, require careful handling to prevent bruising and spoilage. Traditionally, harvesting is performed by skilled workers, however, persistent labor shortages and rising production costs have created a demand for automation. This extended abstract presents an autonomous agricultural robot designed for the selective harvesting of strawberries in open field ridging cultivation. The system features a scalable main body, along with a passive suspension that maintains stability and traction on uneven terrain. It autonomously navigates the field and employs a multi-spectral computer vision approach to identify ripe strawberries. The harvesting apparatus includes a lowinertia, belt-driven manipulator for fast picking, and a soft robotic gripper with a suction cup to isolate individual fruits.

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