Date of Award

Spring 2020

Document Type

Thesis

Publisher

Santa Clara : Santa Clara University, 2020.

Departments

Computer Science and Engineering; Mechanical Engineering

First Advisor

Christopher Kitts

Abstract

Recent population and wage increases have forced farmers to grow more food without a proportionate increase in work force. Automation is a key factor in reducing cost and increasing efficiency. In this paper, we explore our automation solution that utilizes position manipulation and vision processing to identify, pick up, and drop a leaf into a can. Two stepper motors and a linear actuator drove the three-dimensional actuation. Leaf and can recognition were accomplished through edge detection and machine learning algorithms. Testing proved subsystem-level functionality and proof of concept of a delicate autonomous pick-and-place robot.

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