**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** THIS PROJECT IS MOTIVATED BY AN URGENT NEED FOR AN AUTONOMOUS SYSTEM TO ENABLE MORE SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION. AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION IS HEAVILY LABOR-INTENSIVE; YET, THE INCREASE OF LABOR COSTS, IMPACT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC, AND DECREASE OF NEXT GENERATION'S INTEREST IN FARM LABOR ARE MAKING IT INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT TO FIND SUFFICIENT LABOR. HENCE, AUTOMATION TECHNIQUES ARE SOUGHT TO PERFORM AGRICULTURAL TASKS IN A TIMELY MANNER. HOWEVER, MOST PROGRESS IN AGRICULTURAL AUTOMATION TOOK PLACE IN RELATIVELY SIMPLE ZONES THAT ARE CLOSE TO THE GROUND AND HARVESTING TREE CROPS REMAINS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE DUE TO LARGE AND UNSTRUCTURED CANOPIES AND ROUGH TERRAINS. ROBOTIC TECHNOLOGIES ARE PROMISING TO ADDRESS THIS CHALLENGE DUE TO THEIR ADAPTABILITY. HOWEVER, THEIR HARVESTING EFFICIENCY IS CONTROVERSIAL DUE TO THE INABILITY TO HARVEST INSIDE THE CANOPY.IN THIS SEED PROJECT, WE WILL FOCUS ON 1) DEVELOPING A NOVEL SOFT CONTINUUM ROBOT THAT CAN NAVIGATE IN CLUTTERED ENVIRONMENTS, INTEGRATED WITH A HARVESTING END EFFECTOR, 2) DEVELOPING A VISION SYSTEM WITH AN ARRAY OF ON-BOARD CAMERAS THAT CAN DETECT CROPS INSIDE THE CANOPY, AND 3) EVALUATING THE PERFORMANCE OF THE ROBOT SYSTEM BY HARVESTING MANDARIN ORANGES IN THE LAB SETTING AND THEN ON REAL TREES IN THE ORCHARD. THROUGH THE METHODS MENTIONED ABOVE, THIS SEED PROJECT WILL GENERATE CONVINCING PRELIMINARY DATA TO ADDRESS THE FEASIBILITY OF ROBOTICALLY HARVESTING THE INTERIOR OF TREE CROPS AND SUPPORT OUR LONG-TERM OBJECTIVE OF AUTONOMOUS ROBOTIC HARVESTING IN COLLABORATION WITH TRADITIONAL ROBOTS THAT ARE EFFICIENT TO HARVEST SURFACE CROPS. THE PROJECT WILL BENEFIT PROFITABILITY AND SUSTAINABILITY OF THE TREE CROP INDUSTRY BY MITIGATING LABOR SHORTAGE, AUTOMATING HARVESTING, AND PRESERVING THE INTEGRITY OF TREE CANOPIES, AND ULTIMATELY ENHANCE THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR FARMERS AND SOCIETY.