Dormant pruning is an important orchard activity for maintaining tree health and producing high-quality fruit. Due to decreasing worker availability, pruning is a prime candidate for robotics. However, pruning also represents a uniquely difficult problem, requiring robust systems for perception, pruning point determination, and manipulation that must operate under variable … [Read more...] about Semiautonomous Precision Pruning of Upright Fruiting Offshoot Orchard Systems: An Integrated Approach
Maintenance engineering
A Continuum Robot for Remote Applications
The maintenance of critical industrial components is often hindered by limited access, tortuous passages, and complex geometries. In highly constrained environments, inspection tasks are currently performed with borescopes, but even skilled operators struggle with hard-to-reach targets, and the limited mobility prevents in situ repair when defects are identified. Thanks to an … [Read more...] about A Continuum Robot for Remote Applications
Open Robot Hardware: Progress, Benefits, Challenges, and Best Practices
Technologies from open source projects have seen widespread adoption in robotics in recent years. The rapid pace of progress in robotics is in part fueled by open source projects, providing researchers with resources, tools, and devices to implement novel ideas and approaches quickly. Open source hardware, in particular, lowers the barrier of entry to new technologies and can … [Read more...] about Open Robot Hardware: Progress, Benefits, Challenges, and Best Practices
A Digital Twin of the Research Vessel Gunnerus for Lifecycle Services: Outlining Key Technologies
Digitalization has become a key aspect of making maritime industries more innovative, efficient, and fit for future operations. One of the most attractive aspects is the concept of digital twins , which refers to digital replicas of physical assets, processes, and systems that can be used as advanced tools for design, operation, and maintenance. This article introduces the … [Read more...] about A Digital Twin of the Research Vessel Gunnerus for Lifecycle Services: Outlining Key Technologies
