A Cutting-Edge Precision Agriculture Technology: Robotic Stem–Stake Coupling System

This article presents a novel robotic system designed to couple seedling stems to wooden stakes using supportive clips. This process, known as stem–stake coupling or clipping, is a labor-intensive task required for millions of seedlings and plants, providing additional support during transportation, growth, and fruiting stages. Our robotic system utilizes computer vision, machine learning, and a clipping mechanism to recognize seedlings, identify coupling points, and apply the clips. The clipping mechanism forms and attaches clips around the seedling stem and wooden stake, eliminating the need for the plastic clips currently used in manual operations. All components of the system are carried by a robotic arm equipped with additional sensors and actuators for precise environmental interactions. Considering the number of seedlings produced annually, the developed robotic system offers significant cost savings by relieving humans from a physically demanding and laborious task. In addition to stem–stake clipping, the robotic system with its integrated machine vision can be used for a broad spectrum of applications in precision agriculture, such as disease detection, pest control, and grafting.