Determining Hand-harvest Parameters and Postharvest Marketability Impacts of Fresh-market Blackberries to Develop a Soft-robotic Gripper for Robotic Harvesting

Abstract

Hand-harvesting parameters and postharvest marketability attributes of fresh-market blackberries (Rubus L. subgenus Rubus Watson) were characterized to develop a prototype for a soft-robotic gripper for robotic harvesting. A custom-made, force-sensing apparatus attached to the thumb and fingers of a person hand-harvesting blackberries was developed to quantify forces used to harvest and to identify appendages for harvesting. Four cultivars of blackberries grown in Arkansas were harvested at optimal ripeness and stored at 2 °C for 21 days to determine the impact on marketability attributes (leakage, decay, and red drupelet reversion). The forces during harvest imparted by the thumb and middle finger were greatest (0.77 N and 0.37 N, respectively), whereas the index and ring fingers used lower forces (0.16 N and 0.06 N, respectively), primarily to stabilize the blackberry. The forces applied to grab, stabilize, and harvest blackberries caused minimal marketability damage (leakage, <10%; decay, <2%; and red drupelet reversion, <8%) after postharvest storage. This project quantified harvest and postharvest parameters, allowing data-driven design of a three-prong soft-robotic gripper for harvest of fresh-market blackberries.