International Scientific Journals
of Scientific Technical Union of Mechanical Engineering "Industry 4.0"

In order to address multiple UN Sustainable Development Goals, we aim to revolutionize iceberg lettuce harvesting with intelligent robots. Our team, comprised of agricultural producers and engineers, has utilized TRIZ methodology, brainstorming, and other techniques to develop an agricultural technology solution: an Integrated Complex that automates harvesting and loading of produce onto transportation vehicles. Our design leverages state-of-the-art deep computer vision – a form of AI that analyzes camera images – to precisely locate mature lettuce heads. The robot identifies optimal grasping points for harvesting and carefully places the heads in a designated transport area. With deep learning at its core, our robots will optimize yield, reduce waste and costs, ushering in a new era of intelligent agriculture.

Lettuce is an important leafy vegetable for Albanians. It is mostly used as a fresh salad. There are several forms (species) of lettuce that are cultivated in Albania, but Albanian farmers cultivate and market mostly the farmer’s cultivars (landraces), which are cultivars adapted to the conditions of the country and to the farming practice of the farmer. The introduction of foreign lettuce species increases the risk of genetic erosion of the farmer’s cultivars. Through various projects, cultivars of the salad farmer have been collected and their seeds are stored in the country’s Genetic Bank. This study was undertaken to recognize the morphological characteristics, as well as to evaluate the genetic variation of these genotypes with the aim of increasing the effectiveness of their using in possible genetic improvement programs, as well as other studies. In the study, 10 accessions (farmer cultivars) collected in different areas of Albania and stored in the Genetic Bank were taken.