Agricultural robot explained

An agricultural robot is a robot deployed for agricultural purposes. The main area of application of robots in agriculture today is at the harvesting stage. Emerging applications of robots or drones in agriculture include weed control,[1] [2] [3] cloud seeding,[4] planting seeds, harvesting, environmental monitoring and soil analysis.[5] [6] According to Verified Market Research, the agricultural robots market is expected to reach $11.58 billion by 2025.[7]

General

Fruit picking robots, driverless tractor / sprayers, and sheep shearing robots are designed to replace human labor.In most cases, a lot of factors have to be considered (e.g., the size and color of the fruit to be picked) before the commencement of a task.Robots can be used for other horticultural tasks such as pruning, weeding, spraying and monitoring.Robots can also be used in livestock applications (livestock robotics) such as automatic milking, washing and castrating. Robots like these have many benefits for the agricultural industry, including a higher quality of fresh produce, lower production costs, and a decreased need for manual labor.[8] They can also be used to automate manual tasks, such as weed or bracken spraying, where the use of tractors and other human-operated vehicles is too dangerous for the operators.

Designs

The mechanical design consists of an end effector, manipulator, and gripper. Several factors must be considered in the design of the manipulator, including the task, economic efficiency, and required motions. The end effector influences the market value of the fruit and the gripper's design is based on the crop that is being harvested.

End effector

An end effector in an agricultural robot is the device found at the end of the robotic arm, used for various agricultural operations. Several different kinds of end effectors have been developed. In an agricultural operation involving grapes in Japan, end effectors are used for harvesting, berry-thinning, spraying, and bagging. Each was designed according to the nature of the task and the shape and size of the target fruit. For instance, the end effectors used for harvesting were designed to grasp, cut, and push the bunches of grapes.

Berry thinning is another operation performed on the grapes, and is used to enhance the market value of the grapes, increase the grapes' size, and facilitate the bunching process. For berry thinning, an end effector consists of an upper, middle, and lower part. The upper part has two plates and a rubber that can open and close. The two plates compress the grapes to cut off the rachis branches and extract the bunch of grapes. The middle part contains a plate of needles, a compression spring, and another plate which has holes spread across its surface. When the two plates compress, the needles punch holes through the grapes. Next, the lower part has a cutting device which can cut the bunch to standardize its length.

For spraying, the end effector consists of a spray nozzle that is attached to a manipulator. In practice, producers want to ensure that the chemical liquid is evenly distributed across the bunch. Thus, the design allows for an even distribution of the chemical by making the nozzle move at a constant speed while keeping distance from the target.

The final step in grape production is the bagging process. The bagging end effector is designed with a bag feeder and two mechanical fingers. In the bagging process, the bag feeder is composed of slits which continuously supply bags to the fingers in an up and down motion. While the bag is being fed to the fingers, two leaf springs that are located on the upper end of the bag hold the bag open. The bags are produced to contain the grapes in bunches. Once the bagging process is complete, the fingers open and release the bag. This shuts the leaf springs, which seal the bag and prevent it from opening again.[9]

Gripper

The gripper is a grasping device that is used for harvesting the target crop. Design of the gripper is based on simplicity, low cost, and effectiveness. Thus, the design usually consists of two mechanical fingers that are able to move in synchrony when performing their task. Specifics of the design depend on the task that is being performed. For example, in a procedure that required plants to be cut for harvesting, the gripper was equipped with a sharp blade.

Manipulator

The manipulator allows the gripper and end effector to navigate through their environment. The manipulator consists of four-bar parallel links that maintain the gripper's position and height. The manipulator also can utilize one, two, or three pneumatic actuators. Pneumatic actuators are motors which produce linear and rotary motion by converting compressed air into energy. The pneumatic actuator is the most effective actuator for agricultural robots because of its high power-weight ratio. The most cost efficient design for the manipulator is the single actuator configuration, yet this is the least flexible option.[10]

Development

The first development of robotics in agriculture can be dated as early as the 1920s, with research to incorporate automatic vehicle guidance into agriculture beginning to take shape.[11] This research led to the advancements between the 1950s and 60s of autonomous agricultural vehicles. The concept was not perfect however, with the vehicles still needing a cable system to guide their path. Robots in agriculture continued to develop as technologies in other sectors began to develop as well. It was not until the 1980s, following the development of the computer, that machine vision guidance became possible.

Other developments over the years included the harvesting of oranges using a robot both in France and the US.[12]

While robots have been incorporated in indoor industrial settings for decades, outdoor robots for the use of agriculture are considered more complex and difficult to develop. This is due to concerns over safety, but also over the complexity of picking crops subject to different environmental factors and unpredictability.[13]

Demand in the market

There are concerns over the amount of labor the agricultural sector needs. With an aging population, Japan is unable to meet the demands of the agricultural labor market. Similarly, the United States currently depends on a large number of immigrant workers, but between the decrease in seasonal farmworkers and increased efforts to stop immigration by the government, they too are unable to meet the demand.[14] Businesses are often forced to let crops rot due to an inability to pick them all by the end of the season. Additionally, there are concerns over the growing population that will need to be fed over the next years.[15] Because of this, there is a large desire to improve agricultural machinery to make it more cost efficient and viable for continued use.

Current applications and trends

Much of the current research continues to work towards autonomous agricultural vehicles. This research is based on the advancements made in driver-assist systems and self-driving cars.

While robots have already been incorporated in many areas of agricultural farm work, they are still largely missing in the harvest of various crops. This has started to change as companies begin to develop robots that complete more specific tasks on the farm. The biggest concern over robots harvesting crops comes from harvesting soft crops such as strawberries which can easily be damaged or missed entirely. Despite these concerns, progress in this area is being made. According to Gary Wishnatzki, the co-founder of Harvest Croo Robotics, one of their strawberry pickers currently being tested in Florida can "pick a 25-acre field in just three days and replace a crew of about 30 farm workers". Similar progress is being made in harvesting apples, grapes, and other crops. In the case of apple harvesting robots, current developments have been too slow to be commercially viable. Modern robots are able to harvest apples at a rate of one every five to ten seconds while the average human harvests at a rate of one per second.[16]

Another goal being set by agricultural companies involves the collection of data. There are rising concerns over the growing population and the decreasing labor available to feed them. Data collection is being developed as a way to increase productivity on farms. AgriData is currently developing new technology to do just this and help farmers better determine the best time to harvest their crops by scanning fruit trees.

Applications

Robots have many fields of application in agriculture. Some examples and prototypes of robots include the Merlin Robot Milker, Rosphere, Harvest Automation, Orange Harvester, lettuce bot,[17] and weeder.

According to David Gardner, chief executive of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, a robot can complete a complicated task if its repetitive and the robot is allowed to sit in a single place. Furthermore, robots that work on repetitive tasks (e.g. milking) fulfill their role to a consistent and particular standard.[18]

Benefits of many applications may include ecosystem/environmental benefits, and reduced costs for labor (which may translate to reduced food costs),[20] which may be of special importance for food production in regions where there are labor shortages[20]

or where labor is relatively expensive. Benefits also include the general advantages of automation such as in terms of productivity/availability[20] and increasing availability of human resources for other tasks or e.g. making work more engaging.

Examples and further applications

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Self-driving Ibex robot sprayer helps farmers safely tackle hills . Farmers Weekly. en-GB. 2016-03-22 . David . Cousins . 24 February 2016.
  2. Web site: Bosch's Giant Robot Can Punch Weeds to Death . IEEE . 12 November 2015 . Evan . Ackerman.
  3. Web site: Agriculture Robots at The University of Sydney. 2016. 2016-08-09. 2020-05-09. https://web.archive.org/web/20200509111306/https://confluence.acfr.usyd.edu.au/display/AGPub/Our+Robots. dead.
  4. Web site: Craft. Andrew. Making it rain: Drones could be the future for cloud seeding. Fox News. 24 May 2017. 1 March 2017.
  5. Web site: Anderson. Chris. How Drones Came to Your Local Farm. MIT Technology Review. 24 May 2017. en. 7 March 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170307163300/https://www.technologyreview.com/s/526491/agricultural-drones/. dead.
  6. Web site: Mazur. Michal. Six Ways Drones Are Revolutionizing Agriculture. MIT Technology Review . July 20, 2016 . 24 May 2017. en.
  7. Global Agriculture Robots Market Size By Type (Driverless Tractors, Automated Harvesting Machine, Others), By Application (Field Farming, Dairy Management, Indoor Farming, Others) By Geography Scope and Forecast . 3426 . September 2018 . Verified Market Research.
  8. News: In the future, will farming be fully automated?. Belton. Padraig. 2016-11-25. BBC News. en-GB. 2016-11-28.
  9. 10.1109/ROBOT.1995.525635. Agricultural Robot in Grape Production System. Kondo. N.. 21–27 May 1995. IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation. Shibano. Y.. Monta. M.. Proceedings of 1995 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation . 3 . Nagoya. 0-7803-1965-6. 2504–2509. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
  10. Foglia . M. M. . Reina . G. . Agricultural robot for radicchio harvesting . Journal of Field Robotics . 2006 . 23 . 6–7 . 363–377 . 10.1002/rob.20131 . 31369744 .
  11. Yaghoubi. S.. Akbarzadeh. N. A.. Bazargani. S. S.. Bazargani. S. S.. Bamizan. M.. Asl. M. I.. 2013. Autonomous Robots for Agricultural Tasks and Farm Assignment and Future Trends in Agro Robots. International Journal of Mechanical & Mechatronics Engineering. 13. 3. 1–6. 10.1.1.418.3615.
  12. Harrell . Roy . Economic Analysis of Robotic Citrus Harvesting in Florida . Transactions of the ASAE . 1987 . 30 . 2 . 298–304 . 10.13031/2013.31943.
  13. News: Fields of automation. The Economist . December 12, 2009 . Jason . Dorfman . en. 2018-05-29.
  14. News: From strawberries to apples, a wave of agriculture robotics may ease the farm labor crunch. Daniels. Jeff. 2018-03-08. CNBC. 2018-05-29.
  15. Robots Wielding Water Knives Are the Future of Farming. Wired . May 31, 2017 . Matt . Simon . 2018-05-29. en-US.
  16. Bogue. Robert. 2016-01-01. Robots poised to revolutionise agriculture. Industrial Robot. 43. 5. 450–456. 10.1108/IR-05-2016-0142. 0143-991X.
  17. Web site: Harvey . Fiona . Fiona Harvey . 9 January 2014 . Robot farmers are the future of agriculture, says government . 30 October 2014 . The Guardian.
  18. Web site: Agriculture shock: How robot farmers will take over our fields. 23 September 2013. Metro. Jenkins. David. 30 October 2014.
  19. Web site: Products. 2016. Harvest Automation. 10 November 2014.
  20. News: Danielle . Paquette . Farmworkers vs robots: Will tomorrow fruit pickers be made of steel and tech? . 5 December 2022 . Washington Post . en.
  21. News: Papadopoulos . Loukia . This new farming robot uses lasers to kill 200,000 weeds per hour . 17 November 2022 . interestingengineering.com . 21 October 2022.
  22. Web site: Verdant Robotics launches multi-action agricultural robot for 'superhuman farming' . Robotics & Automation News . 17 November 2022 . 23 February 2022.
  23. Small Robot Company Tom, Dick, and Harry farm robots: The 200 Best Inventions of 2022 . Time . 17 November 2022 . en.
  24. Shafiekhani. Ali. Kadam. Suhas. Fritschi. Felix B.. DeSouza. Guilherme N.. 2017-01-23. Vinobot and Vinoculer: Two Robotic Platforms for High-Throughput Field Phenotyping. Sensors. en. 17. 1. 214. 10.3390/s17010214. 28124976. 5298785. 2017Senso..17..214S . free .
  25. Ledford. Heidi. 2017-01-26. Plant biologists welcome their robot overlords. Nature. en. 541. 7638. 445–446. 10.1038/541445a. 28128274. 2017Natur.541..445L. free.
  26. News: Fighting world hunger: Robotics aid in the study of corn and drought tolerance . March 28, 2017 . Phys.org . University of Missouri-Columbia . 2017-11-26.
  27. Web site: AgBot Multi-Function Robot Is Powered by the Sun. pcmag.com. 2 April 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20120331123358/http://goodcleantech.pcmag.com/future-tech/280063-agbot-multi-function-robot-is-powered-by-the-sun. 31 March 2012. dead.
  28. Web site: A fully customizable home robot . https://web.archive.org/web/20100927032034/http://www.zdnet.com/blog/emergingtech/a-fully-customizable-home-robot/1102. dead. September 27, 2010. Roland. Piquepaille. November 25, 2008 . ZDNet . 2 April 2018.
  29. Web site: Harvest Automation Inc.. www.harvestautomation.com. 2 April 2018.
  30. Web site: Your vegetables are going to be picked by robots sooner than you think. TechCrunch. Jonathan . Shieber. 8 August 2018.
  31. Web site: Introducing Root AI. 8 August 2018 .
  32. Web site: Robotic Harvesting.
  33. Web site: Robotic Harvesters Agrobot Spain . en.
  34. How small robots may kill the tractor and make farming efficient . Wired.
  35. News: Autonomous seeder and planter projects.
  36. News: ecoRobotix plans spot-spraying robot for weed control.
  37. News: Blue River See & Spray Tech Reduces Herbicide Use By 90% . 2019-03-22 . 2019-03-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190322103338/https://www.agweb.com/article/blue-river-see--spray-tech-reduces-herbicide-use-by-90/ . dead .
  38. Web site: How Blue River's technology could change agriculture forever. 5 August 2017 .
  39. Web site: Casmobot.
  40. Web site: The Field Robot Event.
  41. Web site: HortiBot - A Plant Nursing Robot.
  42. Web site: See & Spray Agricultural Machines - Blue River Technology. See & Spray Agricultural Machines - Blue River Technology. 2 April 2018.
  43. News: Fields of automation. .
  44. Web site: ROS Agriculture . An ecosystem to empower farmers with robotic tools..
  45. Web site: Agricultural robot starts UK trials. The Engineer . 22 February 2016 . 2016-03-22.
  46. Web site: FarmBot - Open-Source CNC Farming. farmbot.io. 2 April 2018.
  47. Web site: FarmBot DIY agriculture robot promises to usher in the future of farming. 28 July 2016. digitaltrends.com. 2 April 2018.
  48. News: Presentaron un vehículo agrícola que robotiza la aplicación de agroquímicos. 2018-06-07. es.
  49. Web site: ACFR robots . 2016-08-09 . 2020-05-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200509111306/https://confluence.acfr.usyd.edu.au/display/AGPub/Our+Robots . dead .
  50. Web site: Agriculture Robots at The University of Sydney. 2016. Sydney.edu.au.
  51. Web site: THORVALD – AUTONOMOUS MODULAR ROBOT DELIVERING AGRICULTURAL SERVICES . 6 September 2019.

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