Robotics and Image Analysis Applied to Micropropagation

Abstract

This paper describes the underlying research leading to the development of a fully automated experimental robotic work cell for the dissection and transfer of microplants. All operations within the work cell, including handling of the plant containers, the dissection and transfer of the microplants and sterilisation of the robot tools are controlled by an IBM compatible PC. Flexible robot control software provides appropriate levels of access for both the casual user and software development engineer. As described, this experimental work cell is particularly suited to the evaluation of the effectiveness of multi-task robot tools and the corresponding image analysis algorithms. However, if an appropriate image analysis algorithm is not available, the plant specific data for guidance of the robot can be provided by an operator working from a video image overlaid on the computer screen.