3D Modeling of Dormant Apple Trees

The USDA Automatic Pruning Project



Project Description


Dormant pruning is one of the most essential as well as most costly and labor-intensive operations in specialty crop production. During winter, a large crew of trained seasonal workers has to carefully remove the branches from hundreds of trees using a set of pre-defined rules. The motivation behind automatic pruning is to reduce dependence on the large work-force and the associated huge labor cost currently needed for the job. Automatically applying the pruning rules entails construction of 3D models of the trees in their dormant condition (that is, without foliage) and accurate estimation of the pruning points on the branches. The goal of this project is to create an easy interface with the robotic pruners by building and visualizing accurate 3D models of dormant apple trees.


Approach

We build accurate 3D models of dormant apple trees by reconstructing the trunk and primary branches using a novel semicircle fitting based 3D reconstruction scheme.


Results

Project Team


Shayan A. Akbar Somrita Chattopadhyay
Noha M. Elfiky Avinash Kak
Donghun Kim Fangda Li
Henry Medeiros Johnny Park
Hariharan Seshadri Jianxin Sun

Publications