Project Clarifications (Updated 8/10)

Camera & Sensing

• Is a camera allowed, and should it be mounted on the robot or externally? Any specific requirements?
• What will the lighting and background conditions be for sensing? (Fixed or variable?)
• Is a backing/backdrop allowed behind the asparagus?
• Can the webcam connect via USB to a laptop, or must it communicate directly with the Arduino?

Answer: you can use a camera, it must be mounted on the robot, we provide webcams. It will be in the SPOT so you need to deal with the variation in lighting, you can have somewhat hold a background behind, but still you need to be able to deal with variation. The webcam must connect via USA to the laptop and then directly communicate with an Arduino.

Asparagus Properties

• What are the possible colors of asparagus, and is there a base/default color? (Are there only 2 colors?)
• Is there size variation between asparagus (e.g. could some be 79.5 mm)?
• What is the background behind the asparagus during detection?

Answer: The base will always be black, asparagus can be any filament color. The size variation can be within 2.5mm gaps within the range - so you could get 77.5, 80, 82.5mm for example.

Bundling & Bundle Requirements

• Is the bundle 100g of asparagus or exactly 6 asparagus?
• Can bundling be done with a plastic bag?
• Can asparagus be placed manually from the gripper into the bundling mechanism?

Answer: A bundle is of a minimum of 6, but any number higher than this. Bundling can be done in a plastic bag, but the spears must reamain ‘bundled’ in that if you pick up one, the others come with it. The asparagus can not be manually placed from the gripper into the bundling mechanism.

Rail & Attachment

• What is the total height of the rail (including the top rail)?
• How is the attachment to the rail placed — underneath or on the side?