Three-dimensional reconstruction of fruit trees by a shape from silhouette method

Authors: Tabb, Amy

Submitted to: Proceedings of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers International (ASABE)
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/9/2009
Publication Date: 6/7/2009
Citation: Tabb, A. 2009. Three-dimensional reconstruction of fruit trees by a shape from silhouette method. Proceedings of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers International (ASABE). Paper #096138, Reno, Nevada, 21-24 June 2009.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: In order to robotically prune a dormant fruit tree, the branches must be identified in a three-dimensional space. Furthermore, the branches need to be measured in order to determine which branches should be pruned. Both the identification and measurement of branches can be accomplished by generating a three-dimensional reconstruction of the tree and by making measurements on the reconstruction. In this work, we use a computer vision-based method to generate the three-dimensional reconstruction. Images of the tree are acquired in a laboratory setting, and then, a shape from a silhouette (SFS) method of our own design is used to reconstruct the shape of the object. Although we use the SFS method for leafless apple trees, this method is appropriate for many complex objects. We present an overview of our method of SFS and experimental results in a laboratory setting.