IMPROVING PLANT CUTTING ORIENTATION SENSING WITH TACTILE SENSOR ARRAYS

AUTOMATED PLANT PROPAGATION BY CUTTAGE (PREPARATION AND PLANTING OF CUTTINGS) REQUIRES AN EFFICACIOUS, NON-HUMAN MEANS OF SENSING THE ORIENTATION OF EACH CUTTING. CURRENT EXPERIMENTAL VIDEO BASED SYSTEMS ARE TOO EXPENSIVE, SLOW, UNRELIABLE, AND/OR COMPLEX FOR WIDESPREAD USE BY THE COMMERICAL NURSERY, FLORIST, AND FORESTRY INDUSTRIES. PRELIMINARY STUDIES INDICATE THAT TACTILE ARRAY SENSING OF CUTTINGS ORIENTATION WILL DIMINISH PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH EXPERIMENTAL TV BASED SYSTEMS. DEVELOPING, BUILDING, AND EVALUATION OF THREE TACTILE ARRAY SENSING CONCEPTS WILL ESTABLISH THEIR FEASIBLITY. THIS GRANT IS BEING REQUESTED TO PERFORM THAT CRITICAL STEP. ITS SUCCESS WILL ENABLE SUBSEQUENT DESIGN OF A PRACTICAL PROTOTYPE ATUOMATED CUTTING PLANTING SYSTEMS. INDEPENDENTLY, THE INVESTIGATORS ARE/HAVE PERFORMING(ED) THE FUNCTIONAL EQUIVALENTS OF PHASE I SBIR ACTIVITIES IN RESEARCHING, DESIGNING, AND PROVING FEASIBILITY OF TACTILE IMAGE ANALYSIS ALGORITHMS AND HIGH SPEED MECHANICAL CUTTING HANDLING, SINGULATION, ORIENTATION, PREPARATION, AND PLANTING TECHNIQUES. COMBINING THESE RESULTS WITH THIS PHASE I SBIR SPONSORED RESEARCH IN PHASE II PROOF OF OVERALL FEASIBLLITY, WILL PREFACE PHASE III COMMERCIALIZATION. THE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR HAS RECEIVED INQUIRIES ABOUT THE APPLICABILLITY OF TACTILE IMAGING TECHNOLOGY TO ROBOTIC ASSEMBLY OF IRREGULAR AND NONUNIFORM OBJECTS.