On the development of a compliant grasping mechanism for online handling of live objects. II. Design and experimental investigation

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. 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 obtained will provide significant insights into the design and control of future mechanical singulators