Abstract
This paper proposes the new design of thermal cutting system for 5 degree of freedom robotic arm, designed to harvest sweet peppers in horticultural green house. The design consists of two parallel gripper bars mounted on a frame connected by specially designed notch plate and operated by servo motor. The special electric device was developed to obtain the high frequencies with high voltage to perform the cutting operation. The output from the device was connected to the electric rods mounted at the front of the specially designed notch plate. At higher frequencies, the rods generate thermal arc which helps to cut the stem of the sweet pepper. The recognition system assists to locate the fruit.
