Conserved material flow
Initial crop = fruit remaining + harvester bins + carrier bins + delivered fruit. A bin still in transit at the end of the shift is not counted as delivered. Row yield varies by ±20% using a fixed seed.
HARVEST RELAY / ORCHARD LOGISTICS
Harvest capacity is a system.
Coordinate picking, transport and unloading. Find the constraint before investing in the next machine.
Orchard operationReady
00:00 / 30:00
Delivered to depot0 kgOnly completed unloads count
Harvester service wait0 %Waiting for bin collection
Delivered throughput0 kg/hElapsed-time average
Depot queue0 minSum of carrier waiting time
On trees—
→Harvester bins—
→In transport—
→At depot—
BalancedLATEST EVENT
01 / CONFIGURE THE OPERATION
Use the conditions of your farm.
Crop, vehicle and cost assumptions
Hourly rates are editable scenario inputs, not supplier quotations. Include energy, depreciation, maintenance and labor in your own rates. The model does not calculate purchase-price payback.
6 crop rows · 5 m spacing · one unloading bay · identical seeded crop distribution
02 / COMPARE BEFORE YOU COMMIT
What actually improves delivery?
Two dispatch policies. Six transport fleet sizes. The same crop, layout and 30-minute evaluation window.
01 — 06
A controlled comparison, ready to run.
Measure the marginal benefit of another carrier and see whether transport, traffic or unloading becomes the next constraint.
SAME FLEET / TWO POLICIES
CAPACITY SIZING RULE
Delivered mass by fleet size
Fixed assignmentPredicted service delay
| Carriers | Delivered (kg) | Bin wait (%) | Traffic wait (min) | Depot queue (min) | Travel (km) | Scenario €/kg |
|---|
The table uses coordinated dispatch. The sizing rule selects the smallest tested fleet delivering at least 95% of the best tested mass; it is not an economic optimum. Fresh runs exclude live disruptions. Cost = assumed fleet and overhead hourly rates × 0.5 h ÷ delivered kg.
Planning model · synthetic crop stock · calibrate picking rates, handling times and travel paths before making an investment decision.
03 / ENGINEERING BASISA useful model makes its boundaries visible.+
Dispatch and shared resources
Fixed assignment reserves carriers for static picker groups. Coordinated dispatch prioritizes predicted service delay. Exclusive row service and one combined headland/yard access corridor are reserved. Only one vehicle uses that corridor at a time. This conservative planning rule limits throughput. One unloading bay operates first-in, first-out.
What the model does not claim
Picking rate is an input, not a prediction of vision or manipulation performance. Fruit and arm animations illustrate activity. Battery use, slip, damage, sensor errors, detailed turning dynamics and safety certification are outside scope.
For research and consultancy
Use the paired comparison to test dispatch hypotheses, then repeat with your measured rates and site geometry. A smooth animation is not validation. Export the inputs and mass balance with every result.
Related research contextUC Davis · Harvest-aid robots: design and field evaluation ↗Frontiers · Multi-agent task allocation for harvest management ↗These references motivate the logistics problem. Their field results are not used as calibration or claimed as outcomes of this orchard simulation.