Design of a Flexible End-Effector for a Tomato Harvesting Robot

Based on the characteristic analysis of tomato, the performance requirements of the flexible end-effector are determined. And the flexible end-effector of the harvesting robot is designed on this basis. The end-effector is driven by the sixth joint module of the robot. Through the drive screw and sliding nut, the rotation movement of the drive module is transformed into the opening and closing movement of the fingers, so as to realize the harvesting of tomato. The parts and components of the designed end-effector are introduced. Through the motion analysis of the flexible end-effector, the relationship between the harvesting diameter and the driving rotation angle of the joint is obtained. Performance tests and experiments were conducted to verify that the flexible end effector can harvest tomatoes of different heights and diameters without causing damage to them. Moreover, the success rate of robot harvesting tomatoes is relatively high.