Towards a Unified Taxonomy of Agricultural Harvesting Technologies: Linking Physical Interaction, Automation, and Selectivity

Key points

• This evolution has also created a classification problem, as harvesting systems are commonly described according to crop type, mechanical removal principle, sensing technology, robotic architecture, or degree of automation, making direct comparison difficult.1
• This paper proposes a unified taxonomy for agricultural harvesting technologies based on two primary classification axes: the physical principle governing plant-machine interaction and the level of automation incorporated into the harvesting process.1
• A qualitative transition occurs when perception and decision-making directly influence product-level actuation, shifting harvesting from distributed or bulk interaction toward localized and selective manipulation.1
• By separating the physical mechanism of product removal from the automation level and resulting selectivity, the taxonomy clarifies technological boundaries, identifies intermediate configurations, and supports the analysis and development of future harvesting systems.1

Sources (1)

• [1]Towards a Unified Taxonomy of Agricultural Harvesting Technologies: Linking Physical Interaction, Automation, and Selectivity
  arXiv (AI, ML, NLP, CV, robotics, multi-agent) · Oct 9, 02:52 PM

  Harvesting technologies have evolved from conventional mechanized systems based on bulk mechanical interaction toward increasingly automated and robotic systems capable of perception, decision-making, and localized actuation.

  This evolution has also created a classification problem, as harvesting systems are commonly described according to crop type, mechanical removal principle, sensing technology, robotic architecture, or degree of automation, making direct comparison difficult.

Extractive summary: sentences quoted from the sources.