If you have any questions please send me an email ([email protected]) or find me during one of the lecture sessions.

Q : Are there Conductive Raspberries No – there are not – all raspberries are non-conductive. Apologies for this confusion – but it was clarified in week 2. Q: Bunches of raspberries and their size/ripeness A: There are bunches of 3 raspberry – these will all be of the same size and ripeness.

Q: Final number and distribution of raspberries? A: There will be about 6-7 fixed ‘holders’ for the raspberries mounted along the hanging bar to which raspberries can be added. You start from left to right, and then once all one row are harvested, more berries are added and you can start again. There will be bunches, but the number of bunches will be relatively low. Q: Can we use a magnet to harvest the raspberry. A: Not all raspberries will necessarily have a magnet (to simulate different ripeness), and this is also just unnecessary, please harvesting without exploiting this directly (it also damages the raspberries and causes us lots of problems. Q: Do we need to perform size classification and how do we indicate this? A: Yes – you should classify the raspberries by size. This can be indicated by a screen, LED, or just by sorting into different boxes (automatically) – you should just let us know before you start how this is doing. Q: How can we use the arm? A: You move to each raspberry, and then initiate the gripper and then move the arm vertically down. You control it via a screen connected to the robot. After each harvest you can then move to the next raspberry. You can translate or rotate in the horizontal plane, but not rotate!

Q: Can the box location/order be varied? A: There are two boxes – they must be kept in the same rough location (so fair on all) – but switching their order (i.e. which is left/right) is possible.

Can I parts other than the kit?

You are encouraged to use motors/sensors within the kit and use the rapid prototyping materials. If there are some external, widely available parts (e.g. cellophane, sponge) which are helpful, these can be used. Please note reimbursements are not given for purchases outside the course materials. Please talk with TAs if you need something

Can we use pneumatics or having a compressed air supply?

You will not have access to a compressed air supply (this is difficult in field for raspberry harvesting and is very energy inefficient). You can have access to syringes and pneumatic tube if you want to make your own syringe pump. Please note this is not necessary encouraged as requires quite some engineering.

Can we use a webcam/Raspberry Pi?

It is possible to use a webcam if you would like to use this approach - however, it is not necessary to use a webcam and there are most likely easier approaches. To use a webcam you can use this directly connected to a laptop, and run any processing on here. The laptop can then communicate via serial to the Arduino.

When will the robots be available for testing?

In the weeks preceding the final test it will be possible to test using the robot arms in the CREATE Lab. You will be able to book a time slot to do this.

Can the robot arm be moved down to help harvest the fruit?

Yes, moving the robot arm (down only can help) to harvest. This can be done one with a single down action using the robot arm.

Can we have an additional receptable/storage basked for the raspberries?

Yes - you can, but this must be automatically emptied in the main basket in your 5 minutes. Also, you can not rotate the robot arm to empty it, only translate the arm end-effector there, so you need to think about how you can empty it.