This thesis presents in detail the design and testing process of a robotic system for extracting pollen from bee comb. Pollen extraction plays a significant role in everyday life as it represents a rich source of amino acids, proteins, and minerals. However, manual extraction of pollen from the comb can be physically demanding and time-consuming. To address these challenges, we propose a new robotic system capable of automating the process of pollen extraction from the comb.
The robot consists of three translational degrees of freedom equipped with a special tool for pollen extraction, vision sensors, and intelligent algorithms. Each degree of freedom is powered by a stepper motor, enabling fast and precise positioning within the comb. The computer vision system with cameras ensures minor adjustments in case the robot misses a cell. To facilitate robot control, the development and operation of a custom-made graphical user interface are also presented.
The performance of the robotic system was evaluated through an experiment of pollen collection from an artificial comb, where we measured the number of successfully targeted cells and the percentage of collected pollen mass. The results demonstrated that the system is efficient in detecting cells and inserting the tool within them, and partially successful in extracting the entire pollen from each cell.
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