Development and Evaluation of a Radar System for Ground Surface Detection in Wild Blueberry Fields

Abstract

Mechanical wild blueberry harvest efficiency depends heavily on operator skill. The harvesting picking reel requires accurate and precise positioning based on fruit zone, field topography and foreign obstacles. Spatially variable topography in wild blueberry fields poses a serious challenge for the operators to maintain the optimum head height for efficient harvester operation. In this research study, the potential of microwave radar technology was examined for detecting and measuring the ground surface height in wild blueberry fields by comparing the performance of three selected radars. Results indicated that the Terrahawk® radar outperformed other selected radars (0.21 cm < SD < 1.12 cm, 4.45 cm < RMSE < 5.62 cm) and successfully detected the ground surface non-destructively within wild blueberry fields in dynamic and standstill conditions (R-sq > 0.92). The developed ground surface detection system exhibited great potential in the automation of harvester picking reel by utilizing real-time ground surface detection.