I-005

ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF A COMPLIANT GRASPING MECHANISM FOR ON-LINE HANDLING OF LIVE OBJECTS
PART II: DESIGN AND EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION

Authors: Kok-Meng Lee*, A. Bruce Webster+, Jeffry Joni*, Xuecheng Yin*, Richard
Carey**, Michael P. Lacy+, Rishi Gogate*
Affiliation: * The George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0405
**Agricultural Technology Research Program, Georgia Tech Research Institute, GA 30332-0823
+University of Georgia, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Athens, GA 30602-4356

Abstract
This paper addresses the problem of automating the process of transferring live broilers (meat chickens) from a conveyor to a moving shackle line. Since both the mechanical forces and the broiler's natural reflexes contribute to the overall dynamics as the broiler passes through the singulator, an experimental prototype singulator has been developed to facilitate the study of broiler's natural reflexes to mechanical singulation. In Part I, an analytical model is presented to predict the forces/moments acting on the broilers. In Part II, we focus on establishing the criteria for designing an automated system for singulating and orienting the broilers for subsequent transferring to a moving shackle line. We experimentally investigate the use of the compliant grasping mechanism for live broiler singulation with a spectrum of broilers at the Gold Kist research farm, UGA research farm, and a poultry-processing plant in Georgia. It is expected that the results will provide significant insights into the design and control of future mechanical singulators.

Kok-Meng Lee, Ph.D.
George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, GA 30332-0405
Tel: (404)894-7402
Fax: (404)894-9342
kokmeng.lee@me.gatech.edu

AIM'99 website - http://www.me.gatech.edu/AIM99/