Trim Bot Project

***30,000 foot goal.*** Create a pair of electric robot arms that can trim 1 pound of dried cannabis buds in 8 hours.

Create a pair of electric robotic arms that can automatically trim dried cannabis flowers using a standard pair of trimming scissors. The target goal is to trim 1 pound of cannabis in 8 hours time. The arm uses servo motors to rotate the joints. For vision- open cv or other methods of object detection using one or more cameras. The arm will be able to grasp (using a two fingered-claw) a branch or bud from a bin full of branches, then hold the branch while a second arm with standard trimming scissors attached (to the claw) will trim the buds. The finished buds will be dropped into a bucket when complete. The average human trimmer would trim for about 7.2 hours in a standard work day, 1 pound of trimmed cannabis would be the expected minimum after 8 hours. 2 pounds would be a high amount for a human trimmer in a standard 8 hour work day.
I have a real world application for this robot. I can put it to work immediately after it is finished. I work in the cannabis industry, so I hope to have this finished before I lose my position here and have to move to a different industry. I have advanced as far as I can in the company I work for, so this is a way to advance my career without having to completely switch industries and have to start from the bottom.

****The pair of robot arms should do the following:****

trim = remove all fan leaves using standard trimming scissors (see workspaceExamples directory) I will be using CHIKAMASA B-500SF shears(I refer to them as scissors)
Able to grasp a branch or bud with pincer-type end effector(2 finger claw)
Able to open and close a pair of standard trimming scissors, which will be securely attached to end effector(claw). Scissors will be detachable from claw for cleaning.
Able to identify a single branch or bud in a bin full of similar items.
Will need camera for object detection.
- using open-cv or other methods. python or c++ maybe used.
- Yolo v5 is compatible with jetson nano.
Able to work together as a pair of arms, one will hold the scissors(scissor arm), the other will hold a branch/bud(branch arm).
Branch arm able to identify fan leaves on bud and coordinate with scissor arm to remove all fan leaves.
Branch arm able to rotate the bud/branch while scissor arm opens and closes scissors to complete trim.

I am using a RaspberryPi 4 attached to a robot arm purchased from amazon.com
For a complete 3d printable robot arm, Moveo BCN3D I may adapt the design for my uses
Also check out this repository Robot Arm 3d printable
I would use a 3d printing service such as www.xometry.com to print parts.

Here is a link to a YouTube playlist- Build a Robot Arm, these videos have info that may assist in completing the goal. I will store the info I find useful in this repository. Some code maybe generated by chat-gpt or similar methods.

potsm0ker / robotarm Goto Github PK