Hello, everyone!
so currently I have some project which is my final project to be a mechanical engineer to make a coconut picking robot arm. because I don't learn a lot about robotics in my course and I don't know what the best sensor or controller I have to use. for your information I'm using Arduino as the microprocessor. is pixy camera a good choice to be a coconut picking robot arm sensor? or is there any advice for a coconut picking robot arm sensor?
my greetings to you guys from Indonesia. Thank you!
This project seems really interesting.
Could you please send some pictures of it and provide more information?
I'll probably learn a lot from it.
As for the sensor, I've never worked with cameras, but do you really need them?
If you don't need to recognize coconuts specifically you could just make the robot pick up any object in front of it (at a set range) when it's needed.
My assumption here is this "robot" is remote controlled?
You want a camera so the operator can guide a cutting device to remove branches and coconuts which will fall to the ground. There are utube videos of such devices for inspiration.
https://dronebotworkshop.com/pixy2-camera/
https://dronebotworkshop.com/esp32-cam-intro/
@valerio this picture is my design but there are still improvements before I make them. and this robot arm will be merged with a coconut tree climber which is using mecanum wheel to climb a coconut tree. actually, I don't have to use a camera. which certainly this robot could pick a coconut from a tree. so could you give me some advice on what I have to use for this project? Thank you!
@robotbuilder yes, that is one of the options for this project. but I still find out another option that is possible and more effective to use. by the way thank you for your recommendation!
@insanturh A simple, cheap solution would be an HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensor.
It's cheap, easy to use and can be found on most stores.
There are also various IR based sensors, like the Sharp ones or the one mentioned in this video
by Bill:
.
If I remember correctly IR sensor are more suited for outdoor application, because they have lenses that protect the IR emitter from dust.
The choice depends also on the range you need: ultrasonic sensors have a high theoretical range, but also have a wide field of view, which can make the sensor detect obstacles far from its direct line of sight.
IR sensors have a much more narrow field of view, but long range ones are a bit more expensive, and they cannot detect objects which are close (for example, the Sharp 80cm range sensor cannot detect objects closer than 10cm).
An HC-SR04 is quite reliable regardless of its wide field of view at 1.2 meters or below, and can detect objects as close as 2cm.
In general, it depends on what you need exactly.
I recommend watching the linked video, as it explains a lot about these sensors.
Have a nice day