Robotic Agriculture
As the lead physicist and robotics engineer, at Urban Farms. I designed and built the Urban Farms robotic system for planting and harvesting plants in indoor hydroponic racks. I also wrote python control code and machine vision code used to automate the robot and detect when tomatoes and lettuce are ready to harvest. I designed a PID servoed torque system to stabilize the robotic platform as it harvests plants. I am currently constructing a laser photospectrometer to monitor dissolved fertilizer concentrations and auto dispense fertilizers
Seeding and Germination
The robotics system automatically plants seeds by vacuuming seeds, placing them in root medium cubes, and filling germination trays. Trays are transferred to towers where the seeds are misted with nutrient solution and exposed to light to stimulate germination.
The robotic arm and chassis I developed is capable of translating in three dimensions to plant germinated seeds as well as harvesting mature plants. Trays of germinated seeds are placed in the lift below the arm, from where the arm can place individual seedlings in the hydroponic channels to grow and mature. After about two months, individual plants are ready for harvest. The robotic arm uses a pair of cameras and some machine vision software to identify which plants are ripe. Then the same robotic arm swaps the germination tray for a harvesting crate and begins to pick plants and place them in the crate.
Fully Automated Warehouses
This robotic system can be installed in warehouses to produce a continuous supply of fresh and affordable produce. Components of this system can be installed in pre-existing hydroponic operations to prepare seedlings or harvest plants.
Planting and Harvesting
Built on Python and SolidWorks
I designed this system in SolidWorks, had it custom machined, and hand assembled it. The entire software architecture controlling the robotic systems was programmed using Python.