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As a pioneering solution for precision agriculture, unmanned, robotics-centred greenhouse farms have become a key technological pathway for intelligent upgrades. The robotic arm is the core unit responsible for achieving full automation, and the level of technological development of this unit directly affects the productivity and intelligence of these farms. This review aims to systematically analyze the current applications, challenges, and future trends of robotic arms and their key technologies within unmanned greenhouse. The paper systematically classifies and compares the common types of robotic arms and their mobile platforms used in greenhouses. It provides an in-depth exploration of the core technologies that support efficient manipulator operation, focusing on the design evolution of end-effectors and the perception algorithms for plants and fruit. Furthermore, it elaborates on the framework for integrating individual robots into collaborative systems analyzing typical application cases in areas such as plant protection and fruit and vegetable harvesting. The review concludes that greenhouse robotic arm technology is undergoing a profound transformation evolving from single-function automation towards system-level intelligent integration. Finally, it discusses the future development directions highlighting the importance of multi-robot systems, swarm intelligence, and air-ground collaborative frameworks incorporating unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in overcoming current limitations and achieving fully autonomous greenhouses.
Zhang et al. (Tue,) studied this question.