Document Apple Tree Functional Design

[forhalle]

Document the apple tree functionality requirements. Consider the force required to detach the apples from the tree, etc.

Acceptance Criteria

• Design is reviewed and agreed upon with all parties (Robotec.ai, Open Robotics, AWS)

Linked Issues

• Successor Task: [Create Apple Tree Asset #16]

[forhalle]

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[forhalle]

@spham-amzn - Thank you for agreeing to research how to best set up detachable apples. We will likely want:

• leaves to follow when pulling apple to detach
• branches lift higher after apple is removed (due to lack of weight)
• etc.

[adamdbrw]

Please consider the following aspects which will help us with development, including scripting requirements (not within this task, but keep in mind when designing):

1. Procedural generation of trees
   1. First iteration could be just a single tree copied all over.
   2. Then, we can aim for a limited set of trees (5 or more) repeated all over.
   3. Finally, it would be great to have a procedural generation with given parameter ranges (fruit count, tree height, tree radius, optionally - distribution).
2. Procedural generation of apples (fruit size range / distribution / ripeness / optionally: damage)
3. Parameters to adjust globally:
   1. Apple trees height range (interacts with robot design - the frame has a certain height)
   2. Row spacing (interacts with robot design - robot width and telescopic extension range for the suction gripper)
   3. Optionally: number of rows (and resulting overall size of the field) - interacts with our goal of showing scaling-up

Apples should be tagged or otherwise easily recognizable as entities, and should be enabled for a bounding box query (might be their box collider - smallest encompassing box). E.g. "give me all apples within 1 meter of xyz".
Trees should have a reference point location for gathering - which will be used for navigation goals for the robot (where to stop in order to gather).
We might want to decide when the gathering is complete - to know how many apples are left.

We might want to consider the following perspective:

The apple orchard assets are an independently valuable outcome of our work. They can be used by agri-robotics community to model their own orchards rapidly.

[adamdbrw]

@spham-amzn when could we start using Apple Trees? I am thinking about #44 task (and related #46)

[spham-amzn]

@adamdbrw I believe you can with the prefabs that are currently in there. The function design draft only talks the physics involved once an apple is plucked from the branch, and also includes requirements to add blowing leaves to increase realism (so far)

[forhalle]

@spham-amzn will review PR to see how we can execute an environment query (bounding box)