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.