the sub-band short-time energy ratio, then the watermelon is ripe and harvested. If not, it is left on the ground.” The system’s design was the result
of a four-month process, Leonessa says. Students considered several options, including using a robotic arm to lift the melons into the trailer. That option was complicated and expensive. The final ver- sion, Leonessa says, is relatively inexpen- sive, while being easy to use and maintain. It’s also successful, winning the con-
test’s top prize of $30,000. That money will go toward next year’s agBOT Chal- lenge and other projects, Leonessa says. He says that while he would
entertain proposals to commercialize the watermelon harvester, that’s not really the point of the project. It was a senior project in a two-semester class that gives undergraduates a chance to prove they can design, develop and build a prototype that will solve a problem. “For me, it was more of a teaching
watermelon-harvesting machine. One of the Virginia Tech teams concentrated on getting the harvester in place. The other focused on evaluating and harvesting the melons. The resulting collaborative system had to perform on its own. “This was about creating an
autonomous harvesting system, with the emphasis on being autonomous,” Leonessa says. “So, there was no human interaction. You push a button, and the thing goes and finds the watermelons, decides if they are ripe, and, if they are, picks them up.” The winning watermelon harvester
is a two-part system. An ATV equipped with sensors finds the watermelons and positions the harvester so it can place each melon into a trailer. But first, the harvester has to be sure
the watermelon is ripe. It makes that decision the same way many people do — by thumping the melon and listening for a deep, hollow sound. The harvester slaps each melon and measures the resulting sound against a frequency range ripe watermelons generally produce. “We placed a microphone under
Photos courtesy Virginia Tech
Mahindra Group has established the Mahindra AgTech Center at Virginia Tech.
the unit and angled it to the bottom of the melon where it captures the reverbera- tions from the slapper,” the teams’ leader, Hongxu “Howard” Guo, a double major in mechanical and electrical engineering, said in a release describing the project. “If the audio analysis indicates a sound ratio above a particular threshold, what we call
project,” Leonessa says. “My career as a watermelon harvester has pretty much come to an end.”
Grape harvester Other robotic farming projects
are much more directly aimed at com- mercialization. Mahindra Group, for instance, established the Mahindra AgTech Center at Virginia Tech in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Cen-
www.VirginiaBusiness.com
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