Design and fabrication of tree
climber and sprayer
SUPERVISOR
M.Makesh kumar Asst. Professor
Department of Mechanical
Engineering,
KPR Institute of Engineering and
Technology,
Coimbatore – 641 407.
MEMBERS
Ajesh.J (711317114009)
Bala Ganesh.M (711317114023)
Flawin Baffeo.B (711317114039)
III BE Mech-A
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
KPR Institute of Engineering and
Technology,
Coimbatore – 641 407.
 ABSTRACT
The design and fabrication of coconut tree climbing and spraying machine
consists of a base frame which supports all the components to be built upon. It is
fitted with DC motors and tyres with each other for
the operation. A specially designed remote controlled spraying unit is
mounted on the frame. Power from the battery is supplied to the motors
using wires and DPDT(Double Pole Double Throw) switch is used
to control the movement of climbing machine as well as spraying unit. DC
geared motors having reduction gears which ensures self-locking of the
tyres and thus maintains the height. To accommodate for change in the
diameter of coconut tree as the device moves up and down, a spring loaded
mechanism is used for exerting sufficient tension required for gripping the tree.
 This project describes the concept, design and prototype implementation of a
wheeled poleclimbing-robot. Pole climbing robots have become an interesting area
for research in the last years. Several robots have been developed to solve this given
problem. Every construction has its own advantages and disadvantages. The goal of
this work was to design another pole climbing robot that uses a new clamping
principle.Pipe climbing robot has many applications in industrial field as we know
in chemical industry, there are many chemicals that are harmful to human health and
the pipelines of which are needed to be inspected frequently. Human cannot be
allowed to do such operations, hence this robot can be very useful in such tasks of
inspection. Boilers also have the similar conditions, as temperature and pressure
inside the boilers is very high, hence to check the pipelines this robot can be used at
such places.
• In this article published by
• Hamed Shokripour
• Wan Ishak
• Wan Ishak bin Wan Ismail
• zahraa Moez Karimi
The purpose of this project was to design, fabricate and test a self balancing control
system for a four wheeled climbing robot. A HM-RF transparent wireless data link
module was used for transferring the data between the remote control and robot. A
programmed microcontroller ATmega16 was used to generate an appropriate signal
for each of the remote control buttons. The control system balances the robot during
the climbing by separately adjusting the rotation speed of each DC motor
proportional to the tilt angle of the robot frame. Pulse-width modulation technique
was used to control the speed of DC motors. A two axes tilt sensor was used for
concurrently measuring the tilt angle of the robot in both X and Y axes
 A microcontroller ATmega64 was used to analyze the received data from the tilt
sensor and the remote control and to generate an appropriate PWM signal for each
DC motors. For programming, the microcontrollers were used in Bascome IDE
interface in basic language. An electronic board was designed to connect the sensor,
data receiver and motors to the microcontroller. The robot tested in field and
maximum tilt angle was 8 and 6° for Y and X axes, respectively.
In the article published by
Eldhose Paul
Lovin Varghese
Ajo Issac John
George Jolly
Akash Paul Savio
Sourcing skilled labor for agriculture sector has become a tedious job in today's
time. There is aneed for mechanization in the farming process in order to cope with
lack of manpower. Kerala, despite being the second largest producer of coconut in
India, depend on conventional climbing techniques which involve high risk for
harvesting coconut. This project is an intuitive mechanized robot, which would
eliminate the need of manual climbing for harvesting coconut. The main goal of the
system is the use of economical technology which is safe and can be easily done
This article was published by
Arjun Prasad
Taniya Varghese
Tibin Tom Varghese
Emil Ninan Skariah
This paper gives a prototype design of a wireless robot which provides a better
solution for harvesting purpose in coconut tree. In this system a robot with wheeled
leg mechanism is used. Conventionally, harvesting has always been done manually
and any device developed also requires a human labour to accompany it. Safety of
the worker and the increased labour charges are the primary concerns of the farm
owners now. In this design, Electric motors are used to control the movement of the
robot. The robot is made adaptive so that it can adjust its wheels according to the
dimension of the tree trunk by the action of compression springs.
 Controlling unit of the robot is a PIC16F877A microcontroller. Robot is controlled
by giving commands through PC using an application software. A robotic arm is
provided for cutting purpose. Base, elbow and shoulder of the arm are servomotor
controlled. Robot is controlled using wireless communication, for this purpose
Zigbee module is used. It has also got a wireless camera interfaced to know the
exact position of the cutting blade. The main aim of the project is to reduce human
effort and to provide an economically feasible solution for palm tree harvesting.
This article was published by
Prof. Shiva Krishna J
Prof. Gaurish Walke.

Semi-Automated coconut tree harvester machine to provide a solution for farmers

in Climbing and Harvesting coconut plantation. The machine eliminates the need
of manual climbing and increases the safety and reduces the fatigue of manual
labours.Project Batch: Mohit Rane, Ashish Toraskar, Rajat Harmalkar, Gauresh
Lingwat, Utkarsh Naik of Final Year Mechanical Engineering. The Project guided
by Prof. Shiva Krishna J and Prof. Gaurish Walke.The use of this machine will
enhance the climbing, inspection and harvesting capabilities of coconut
plantations and give major contributions towards the increased productivity by
reducing extensive labor costs. The harvester can be used for pesticide spraying
and inspection of Areca-nuts attaching a spray nozzle.
This article was published by
MR. CHANDRAKANTH SHENOY K
MR. LOYAL RAYAN
MR. MANOJ KUMAR
MR. ARPITH
Arecanut plantation is one of the main agricultural activities in the southernpart of
India. The regular spraying of pesticides to coconut trees, plucking of arecanut and
coconuts, which is done manually to a large extent, requires specialized
labourers,who have to climb the tree to do that. This is a risky job. Most of the
climbers do not have any medical insurances and thus hardly have any risk
coverage.Considering all the casualties in conventional tree climbing we decided to
make a robot that does the necessary job which eliminates risks to human life.
 INTRODUCTION
The scope of this project is limited to climb trees having
circumference between 60 and 80 cm. Thus, maintaining
sufficient friction for capable of handling the self-weight,
maintaining the stability of the structure while in motion, reducing
the total weight, and achieving the precise gripping are the important
parameters that have to be considered. The machine should be
capable of adjusting to the varying cross section of the tree during
upward and downward movements. The machine should grab the
tree firmly to maintain its positions during the operation. The geared
motor should be enough power to carry the payloads and weight
of the machine.
 In recent years, labour scarcity has emerged as one of the foremost challenges in
farming. One crop that has been most affected by this is the supari, or coconut tree.
Coconut treeattain a height of about 60-70 feet. It is mandatory to climb the trees a
minimum of five times a year for a successful harvest - twice for the preventive
spray against fungal disease, and thrice to harvest the coconut. Only skilled
labourers can carry out these farming operations. They have to climb the trees using
muscle power. In an acre that has 550 trees, a labourer has to climb a minimum of
100 to 150 trees. As this involves real hard, physical exertion,younger generations
of labourers are losing interest, with potentially harsh implications for coconut
cultivation. The spraying is done in monsoon, while harvesttime is typically in
summer.
 The multitude of coconut tree climbing techniques used demonstrate amazing
human inventiveness. These range from: climbing the tree with bare hands;
climbing with just a piece of wild vine, rope, or fabric attached either to feet or
hands; climbing with a system of two ropes as in Brazil, climbing with spikes
attached to feet or legs (the spikes generally damaging the trunks); climbing with
various kind of ladders; turning the trunks into kinds of staircases by carving steps
in the trunk (damaging) or, as in Sri Lanka, by attaching coconut husks with ropes
to the trunk; using a system of two platforms, one controlled by arms and the other
by legs; using equipment based only on human power; using equipment with an
extra source of power; using monkeys to climb the palms; and even harvesting the
coconuts with a robot, as tested in India.
 A mobile robot is an autonomous system which operates in a real world
environment. The control system of such a robot must perform complex
information processing tasks in real time (Xu et al., 1997). Mobile robots are
expected to carry out various tasks in all kinds of application fields such as
manufacturing plants, warehouses, nurse service. One of the first problems of
harvesting the trees productions is that the fruits are not within the workers’
reach. The strategies for harvesting trees fruits are climbing the tree or using
some equipment of machine to harvest the fruits. The applications of climbing
robots range from automatic cleaning systems for windows and building exteriors
to inspection of hazardous environments and autonomous vehicles for space
applications.
 Coconut harvesting is traditionally carried out by men who belong to the
economically lower class of society. As the number of literacy rate increases and
awareness about the high paid job opportunities, the number of men climbing
coconuttrees for harvesting coconut has decreased increasingly. As these men
usually do not have any insurance coverage, any accidents while climbing the trees
would affect the entire family. In many such households, people suffer a lot because
Camera WirelessCommunication Camera View Autonomous Coconut Harvesting
Robot.The condition is worsen by several industries, which depend on raw
coconuts, for its processing and manufacturing of various value-added products.
The inflorescence sap of coconut palms used to produce palm nectar, desiccated
coconut and its powder, packed coconut milk, coconut cream, coconut milk powder,
tender coconut water, vinegar, nata-de-coco, etc.
 Researchers around the world work on climbing robots most of these robots are
capable of climbing regular structures like poles, wall, etc. But a very few are
capable of climbing trees, main reason being irregular surface and variation of
diameter with length.It also requires great agility and maneuverability for the
success of the product, hence conventional climbing robots cannot be used for tree
climbing applications. Many trees like coconut tree, coconut tree, and coconut tree
are so tall and their irregularity in shape makes the climbing risky. Hence harvesting
fruits and nuts and maintaining them becomes difficult. So development of a unique
tree climbing mechanism is necessary which may be used for maintaining and
harvesting applications. The weight of the module depend on the material selection,
number of motor used and the electronic components. Normally the robot weights
between 3 to 6 kg and can go up to a height of 50 meters.
 The traditional design of a tree climbing robot is inspired from inch worm. These
models are very slow and finds it difficult to adapt to the irregularity of the tree. So
the inch worm design or model cannot be used in complex tree environments
involving multiple branches. Another type of design is wheeled robot where in
instead of grippers wheels are used for climbing up. The robot engulfs the tree and
locks it and the motor rotates. The sizes of these robots are comparable to the
diameter of tree. These models are suitable for trees with straight and plain
trunks.The main drawback is it being slow and there is a possibility of them
damaging the tree trunk. So the robot should be made in such a way that it should
not damage the tree under any circumstance. The main locomotion of the robot is
caused due to the motors which facilitates simultaneous motion and three support
system for stability. This robot grasps the tree with the help of wheels which is
attached to the body and acted by a spring
The design is inspired by the human-climber’s action which relies on a strap around
his waist. A climber may push his weight back to provide more torque around his
waist to create higher force on his foot. The principle of the construction is that the
centre of mass has a fix distance to the pole, representing the body of the climbing
man, which has the effect that the normal force between the wheel and the pole is
high enough to drive upwards. Robots that can climb poles are under development
and are expected to be used in the inside/outside maintenance of buildings,
observations of disaster scenes from a height, pruning trees, and more. As an
alternative, we developed and analyzed a climbing method. Based on this definition
a very flexible walking machine, which can walk on very rough and steep terrain
should not belong to the class of climbing robots. In the following climbing robots
will be distinguished into 3 classes based on their locomotion ability:
(1) wheeled-driven or chain-driven machines,
(2) Legged locomotion,
(3) Locomotion based on arms and grippers.
 Coconut tree harvesting plays a very important role in the economy of many
developing countries. Unfortunately despite its mass distribution and wide spread
around the world, coconut harvesting is still done without proper safety measures
which can lead to serious casualties. Usually all over the country, farmers practice
conventional harvesting method in which coconuts and areca nuts are picked by
specially trained, skillful and experienced climbers. Those who own the trees are
finding it increasingly difficult to find professional palm tree climbers. There is no
longer a guaranteed labour force, tree climbers are a rarity these days in Kerala and
other palm tree growing states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh,
Maharashtra and Goa, with very few taking on the traditional profession. Tree
climbers are a very vital link in the production chain. The scarcity of labour disrupts
harvesting cycle’s thus causing loss of income to the farmers. As against the general
norm of harvesting cycles of 45-60 days, farmers are currently able to harvest only
once in three to four months. In some places 2-3 meter long ladders are used for
climbing palms for harvesting nuts. It has been reported that a simple palm climbing
device has also been used by the climbers for harvesting nuts.
 As mankind is progressing towards development,it need not be a growth that
overlooks facilitating the sector that is most important for us i.e. agricultural sector.
This sector in India has various tasks that are made easier or could have been made
easier with the help of latest machinery and technology, but these facilities are
expensive. An average Indian farmer, according to his income, cannot afford them
and thus, without having any other option, opts for manually carrying out these
tasks. This is one of the main reason why this project is developed having an
agricultural background, also the above mentioned statistics channelize the project
towards coconut and their harvesting process.The coconuts that we eat and relish
grow way higher than the ground level on the canopies of the coconut trees which
are around 60-100 feet tall. Generally to harvest these coconuts the tree owner,
irrespective of the number of trees he own, has to seek out for an individual who
will climb the tree and cut down the coconuts. This is a risky method since even a
small mistake, made by the climber while gripping the tree, can cost him his life.
Also these individuals charge a lot of money to do the same.
 METHODOLOGY
We aim to address a research on agricultural
machines

We collect data by searching on existing data

on tree climber machine

We analyzed the data by solve the exact

dimensions with the force and torque
calculations

The project is demonstrated by perform it on

the field so the success rate of the project is
shown
 CALCULATIONS
• Assuming weight of the machine , W=6Kg
W=6*9.81
W=58.86N
Assuming coefficient of friction between coconut tree,µ=0.3

Force to be lifted , F=W/µ

F=58.86/0.3
F=196.2N
Wheel to be selected

• Average circumference of the coconut tree is taken as 60 to 80 cm.The maximum

circumference of the coconut tree is 80 cm and the minimum circumference of the
tree is 60 cm.5cm wheel is used in the machine for torque restriction of motor.
• Rubber gripped tyres are used to have better coefficient of friction between tree
and tyres
• Four wheels are used in the four links AB, BC, CD and DA
Selection of link length
• Length of each link is taken as 56 cm,
AB=BC=CD=DA=56cm
hence the total link length is 224 cm
six links of 20cm lengths are used to balance the upper and lower
frames
hence the sum is 120cm
total length of frame 2 (i.e) lower link length is 224 cm
Hence the total link length is 568 cm or 5.6 m
Climbing Mechanism
The coconut tree climbing and spraying machine works on the principle of friction.
The machine developed consists of upper and lower frame with wheels driven by
geared motor. The machine is square base, springs are provided on each links for the
movement of links with the variation in size of the tree. A spring is used to provide
sufficient grip to the wheel. The frame of climber can be opened up and held across
the tree. The setup is connected across the tree with the help of a brake cable. In this
tree climbing machine power is obtained from 12V battery through which drive
motors. The switches is used to control the motor. When the drive motor is switched
on, the motor rotates the wheels. Due to the friction between drive wheel and the
tree. machine rises up along the tree. The contact friction between the wheel and tree
is maintained with the help of tension springs and grippers on the wheels.
• The tension of the spring helps to retain the machine at the required height. Now
the motors for controlling the nozzle attachment is switched ON with the help of
switch, then these motors start to rotate. The motor is capable of rotating in 180˚.
The nozzle is mounted on motors. Guide way motors are rotated to the required
position in order to spray pesticide to the crop. The nozzle is positioned near the
coconut tree with the help of motors and then the motors are switched OFF. Then
the windshield motor is switched ON. Then the pesticide is being sprayed .After
which the pump is stopped, the whole setup is being brought back by changing the
polarity of the switch so that the drive motor rotates in opposite direction there by
making the wheels rotate in reverse direction. After reaching the ground the setup
is removed from the tree.