End-effector for robotic harvesting of a tomato fruit with calyx

Tomato fruit harvesting is a labor-intensive process, and therefore robotic automation is required. For tomato fruit harvesting robot, we developed three types of end-effectors (EEs): scissor type, cylinder type and suction-cutting type. It is necessary to harvest the tomato fruit with calyx especially in Japan. Therefore, the proposed EE has a cutter mechanism for cut the peduncle. The results show that the scissor type and the cylinder type EE can cut the peduncle; however, it is difficult to separate one fruit from the cluster. On the other hand, the suction-cutting type can separate and cut one fruit from the cluster and therefore it is useful for harvesting tomato fruit with calyx.