Towards Robotic Pruning: Automated Annotation and Prediction of Branches for Pruning on Trees Reconstructed Using RGB-D Images

Dukić, Jana; Pejić, Petra; Vidović, Ivan; Nyarko, Emmanuel Karlo

doi:10.3390/s25185648

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Towards Robotic Pruning: Automated Annotation and Prediction of Branches for Pruning on Trees Reconstructed Using RGB-D Images

Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Computer Science and Information Technology Osijek, 31000 Osijek, Croatia

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Sensors 2025, 25(18), 5648; https://doi.org/10.3390/s25185648

Submission received: 8 August 2025 / Revised: 4 September 2025 / Accepted: 8 September 2025 / Published: 10 September 2025

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sensing Technology and Computer Vision for Precision Agriculture and Smart Farming)

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Abstract

This paper presents a comprehensive pipeline for automated prediction of branches to be pruned, integrating 3D reconstruction of fruit trees, automatic branch labeling, and pruning prediction. The workflow begins with capturing multi-view RGB-D images in orchard settings, followed by generating and preprocessing point clouds to reconstruct partial 3D models of pear trees using the TEASER++ algorithm. Differences between pre- and post-pruning models are used to automatically label branches to be pruned, creating a valuable dataset for both reconstruction methods and training machine learning models. A neural network based on PointNet++ is trained to predict branches to be pruned directly on point clouds, with performance evaluated through quantitative metrics and visual inspections. The pipeline demonstrates promising results, enabling real-time prediction suitable for robotic implementation. While some inaccuracies remain, this work lays a solid foundation for future advancements in autonomous orchard management, aiming to improve precision, speed, and practicality of robotic pruning systems.

Keywords: autonomous fruit tree pruning; RGB-D images; 3D tree reconstruction; automatic annotation

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MDPI and ACS Style

Dukić, J.; Pejić, P.; Vidović, I.; Nyarko, E.K. Towards Robotic Pruning: Automated Annotation and Prediction of Branches for Pruning on Trees Reconstructed Using RGB-D Images. Sensors 2025, 25, 5648. https://doi.org/10.3390/s25185648

AMA Style

Dukić J, Pejić P, Vidović I, Nyarko EK. Towards Robotic Pruning: Automated Annotation and Prediction of Branches for Pruning on Trees Reconstructed Using RGB-D Images. Sensors. 2025; 25(18):5648. https://doi.org/10.3390/s25185648

Chicago/Turabian Style

Dukić, Jana, Petra Pejić, Ivan Vidović, and Emmanuel Karlo Nyarko. 2025. "Towards Robotic Pruning: Automated Annotation and Prediction of Branches for Pruning on Trees Reconstructed Using RGB-D Images" Sensors 25, no. 18: 5648. https://doi.org/10.3390/s25185648

APA Style

Dukić, J., Pejić, P., Vidović, I., & Nyarko, E. K. (2025). Towards Robotic Pruning: Automated Annotation and Prediction of Branches for Pruning on Trees Reconstructed Using RGB-D Images. Sensors, 25(18), 5648. https://doi.org/10.3390/s25185648

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Towards Robotic Pruning: Automated Annotation and Prediction of Branches for Pruning on Trees Reconstructed Using RGB-D Images

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