An Enhanced Network Based on Improved YOLOv7 for Apple Robot Picking

In the conventional agricultural production process, the harvesting of mature fruits is frequently dependent on the observation and labor of workers, a process that is often time-consuming and labor-intensive. This study proposes an enhanced YOLOv7 detection and recognition model that incorporates a cross-spatial-channel 3D attention mechanism, a prediction head, and a weighted bidirectional feature pyramid neck optimization. The motivation for this study is to address the issues of uneven target distribution, mutual occlusion of fruits, and uneven light distribution that are prevalent in harvesting operations within orchards. The experimental findings demonstrate that the proposed model achieves an [email protected]–0.95 of 89.3%, representing an enhancement of 8.9% in comparison to the initial network. This method has resolved the issue of detecting and positioning the harvesting manipulator in complex orchard scenarios, thereby providing technical support for unmanned agricultural operations.