Crack removal of carrot based on the Cartesian robot with a novel path planning method

The goal of this study was to develop a removal device based on Cartesian robot with a three-dimensional vision for carrot crack removal. In this study, the adaptive method of feedrate scheduling and path interpolation were proposed, and a crack removal device was designed with a Cartesian robot and a Time-of-Flight sensor. S-shape acceleration/deceleration and bi-direction scanning algorithms were developed to schedule the feedrate and combined with Taylor expansions to generate interpolation points of removal path within the multi-constraints of non-uniform rational B-spline curve and robot. After feedrate scheduling and path interpolation, the profiles of feedrate and path were smoothed to avoid violent fluctuations in feedrate and acceleration, relieving the shock vibration of robot and improving removal accuracy. A crack removal device based on a Cartesian robot and a Time-of-Flight sensor was built with the developed removal method to remove the carrot crack. The proposed removal technology for carrot crack can provide a reference for defect removal in other fruits and vegetables.