Methods and systems for maintenance and other processing of container-grown plants using autonomous mobile robots

Abstract

A system is provided for processing container-grown plants positioned in a given area. The system includes a processing station positioned in the area for processing the container-grown plants. It also includes one or more autonomous mobile container handling robots configured to: (i) travel to a source location in the area and pick up a container-grown plant, (ii) transport the container-grown plant to the processing station where a process is performed on the container-grown plant, (iii) transport the container-grown plant from the processing station to a destination location in the area, (iv) deposit the container-grown plant at the destination location, and (v) repeat (i) through (iv) for a set of container-grown plants in the source location.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of processing container-grown plants positioned in a given area, comprising:
 (a) picking up a container-grown plant at a source location in the area and transporting the container-grown plant to a processing station using an autonomous mobile robot;   (b) processing the container-grown plant at the processing station;   (c) transporting the container-grown plant from the processing station to a destination location in the area and depositing the container-grown plant at the destination location using an autonomous mobile robot; and   (d) repeating steps (a) through (c) for a set of container-grown plants in the source location.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising carrying the container-grown plant through the processing station using the same autonomous mobile robot while the container-grown plant is being processed. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein steps (a) and (c) are performed by different autonomous mobile robots. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising detecting a physical condition relating to the container-grown plant, and processing the container-grown plant in accordance with the detected physical condition. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the physical condition comprises a soil moisture level or a soil pH level. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising enabling wireless communication between the processing station and the mobile autonomous robot. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising commanding the robot to perform a specified action when said robot is within the processing station. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising automatically moving the processing station in a direction towards the source location as container-grown plants are moved from the source location to the destination location. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein each container-grown plant includes a machine-readable unique identifier, and wherein the method further comprises reading the unique identifier of each container-grown plant processed by the processing station. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the machine-readable unique identifier comprises a bar code, quick response code, or RFID tag. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising recording or transmitting to a remote data processing site the unique identifier of each container-grown plant processed by the processing station and information on the process performed. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising communicating information on the source location or the destination location of a container-grown plant by the autonomous mobile robot to the processing station when the processing station processes the container-grown plant, and records or transmits to a remote data processing site the information with the unique identifier of the container-grown plant. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , step (b) comprises applying a substance to a container-grown plant. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , step (b) comprises weeding a container-grown plant. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , step (b) comprises re-potting a container-grown plant. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , step (b) comprises grading a container-grown plant. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1 , step (b) comprises sorting a container-grown plant. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , step (b) comprises trimming a container-grown plant. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the processing station comprises an enclosure, within which step (b) is performed. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising detecting and following a boundary marker by the autonomous mobile robot to locate the processing station, the destination location, or the source location. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising providing a controlled lighting environment within the processing station, enabling use of vision-based equipment to process the container-grown plant. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising providing a uniform background within the processing station, enabling use of vision-based equipment to process the container-grown plant. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein processing the plant comprises physically altering a container-grown plant. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein processing the plant comprises selectively removing portions of a container-grown plant.