Robotic spearing device for performing item capture and sorting, spearing end effector and method for performing same

A robotic spearing device for performing capture and sorting of a selected item from a mass of items, the robotic spearing device comprising:

• a robotic manipulator having a spearing end effector mounted at an end thereof, the spearing end effector comprising:
• a spearing end effector body;
• at least one spike configurable between a retracted configuration where the spike is entirely located inside the spearing end effector body and an extended configuration where the spike extends outwardly from the spearing end effector body, the at least one spike being engageable to the selected item when configured in the extended configuration;
• and
• at least one linear actuator having the at least one spike mounted thereon and being movable to configure the at least one spike between the retracted configuration and the extended configuration;
• a machine vision system configured to acquire images of the mass of items, to process the images acquired to identify the selected item from the mass of items and to determine the position of the selected item;
• and
• an electronic control system in data communication with the machine vision system and the manipulator, the electronic control system receiving data relative to the position of the selected item from the machine vision system and controlling the manipulator to move the manipulator and position the spearing end effector thereof to allow engagement of the spike of the end effector with the selected item when the spike is moved from the retracted configuration towards the extended configuration.