As labor requirements in horticultural increase, so too does the feasibility of increased automation in these industries. This paper presents a performance evaluation of a kiwifruit harvesting robot designed to operate autonomously in pergola style orchards. The robot consists of four harvesting arms, endeffectors designed specifically for kiwifruit detachment, and a machine vision system employing convolution neural networks. Performance evaluations are presented for the harvester as a whole, as well as the machine vision system. We show the system as a whole is capable of harvesting over half of all fruit within three test orchards, equating a substantial reduction in peak harvesting labor requirements.

The idea of combining photovoltaic and solar thermal collectors (PVT collectors) to provide electrical and heat energy is an area that has, until recently, received only limited attention. Although PVTs are not as prevalent as solar thermal systems, the integration of photovoltaic and solar thermal collectors into the walls or roofing structure of a building could provide greater opportunity for the use of renewable solar energy technologies. In this study, the design of a novel building integrated photovoltaic/thermal (BIPVT) solar collector was theoretically analysed through the use of a modified Hottel-Whillier model and was validated with experimental data from testing on a prototype BIPVT collector.The results showed that key design parameters such as the fin efficiency, the thermal conductivity between the PV cells and their supporting structure, and the lamination method had a significant influence on both the electrical and thermal efficiency of the BIPVT. Furthermore, it was shown that 1

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract