British scientists create green-fingered robot
Scientists have created a green-fingered robot which can find its way around gardens and tackle horticultural chores like pruning roses and trimming bushes.
The so-called ‘Trimbot’ uses mapping technology to navigate its surroundings and comes equipped with various sensors and advanced cutting tools.
Pioneering computer vision technology means the robot can work even as the bane of gardening — dimming light and bad weather — sets in.
Engineers fitted five pairs of cameras and a flexible robotic arm to an automated lawnmower that had been made by electronics company Bosch.
They coded algorithms to enable the robot to monitor the shape of overgrown bushes as it trims, to ensure it cuts them back to the ideal shape.
Trimbot can also prune roses by pinpointing the exact part of each plant’s stem that needs be cut.
‘Getting the robot to work reliably in a real garden was a major feat of engineering,’ said informatics expert Bob Fisher. ‘The eight partner teams developed new robotics and 3D computer vision technology.’ This, he added, enables Trimbot ‘to work outdoors in changing lighting and environmental conditions.’
The team behind the project — which is being led by the University of Edinburgh — said that prototypes could be used to maintain communal green spaces, support farmers and help people with mobility issues tend to their gardens.
The development also involved researchers from Bosch and universities in Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
Funding was provided by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme.