Loose fruit picker for autonomous loose fruit collector.

The oil palm plantation industry plays a pivotal role in Malaysia's economy, contributing significantly to global palm oil production and exports. However, the industry faces challenges related to labour-intensive harvesting, particularly the manual collection of loose oil palm fruits (LF). This manual process not only leads to reduced productivity but also poses health risks to workers. To address these issues, the development of an autonomous LF collector is proposed, aiming to reduce labour requirements and enhance collection efficiency. The automated LF collector incorporates a robotic arm for fruit picking, an LF detection system using image processing, a GPS-based human-follower vehicle, a back-to-home navigation system, and obstacle avoidance mechanisms. This innovation allows the LF collector to operate autonomously in oil palm plantations, thus relieving the workforce. The project details materials and components selection for the LF picker, providing insights into the practical implementation of this technology. By reducing the reliance on manual labour and improving LF collection, the proposed autonomous LF collector contributes to increasing overall palm oil production, ensuring the industry's sustainability and economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]