Autonomous harvester for cilantro with bunching and tying capability

This project aims to develop an automated robotic harvester for cilantro and other specialty cropsthat are harvested in bunches. Currently this is a labor-intensive task that takes up to 50% of totalcosts. Automating this task would mean reducing OPEX for farms by 40%-50% and moreimportantly tackling the huge labor shortage currently affecting the agricultural sector. This willpermit to grow produce that is nowadays economically unviable due high labor costs thus reducingthe need to import cilantro and other specialty crops and making US internationally morecompetitive.Phase I will focus on developing a proof-of-concept prototype and test the operation with realcilantro in an iterative design process. The principal technical challenge is the stem collection andbunching system which requires complex and precise mechatronics to accurately detect cutextract transfer and bunch the cilantro stems into a precise size which are later tied. Both the tyingsystem and the autonomous moving platform that traverses the cilantro beds will represent a lesserchallenge as the company has already developed working prototypes that only need to be adapted.To our knowledge no such system exists in the market in spite of the growing need representing ahigh-risk endeavor.This proposal addresses the Topic Area 8.13 "Plant Production and Protection (Engineering)"specifically its Research Priority 1. "Improved Crop Production Methods or Strategies" and itstopics a. "Technologies that enhance commercial horticulture production" b. "Productionharvesting and postharvest handling of specialty crops" and c. "Cyber-physical systems to supportprecision agriculture".