Introduction

Agriculture is humankind’s oldest and still its most important

economic activity, providing the food, feed, fiber, and fuel

necessary for our survival.

With the global population expected to reach 9 billion by 2050,

agricultural production must double if it is to meet the increasing

demands for food and bioenergy.

Given limited land, water and labor resources, it is estimated that

the efficiency of agricultural productivity must increase by 25% to

meet that goal, while limiting the growing pressure that agriculture

puts on the environment.

Then HOW TO REACH THAT GOAL??

YES. The answer to this question is to introduce The robotics and

automation technology in AGRICULTURE.

Robotics and automation can play a significant role in society

meeting 2050 agricultural production needs.

From last six decades robots have played a fundamental role in

increasing the efficiency and reducing the cost of industrial

production and products.

In the past twenty years, a similar trend has started to take place in

agriculture, with GPS- and vision-based self-guided tractors and

harvesters already being available commercially.

More recently, farmers have started to experiment with

autonomous systems that automate or augment operations such as

pruning, thinning, and harvesting, as well as mowing, spraying,

and weed removal.

A view of Traditional Agriculture:

Seeding Pesticiding

Croping

What are the disadvantages of traditional agriculture

system??

Huge amount of Manual power.

Time.

Less efficient.

Less production and many more..

To overcome from these advantages we introduced The

robotics and automation technology in AGRICULTURE.

What is the actual meaning of The robotics and automation

technology in AGRICULTURE?

It’s a technology introduced to increase the efficiency interms of

production and to reduce the time and the manual power by

using some systems which can be operated automatically (no

need of manual operation).

Advantages:

The Robo does not get sick or tired and does not need time off.

It can operate with closer tolerances (so every round is at full

field capacity), Fewer errors and at higher speeds

Because machines can be made lighter and cheaper if the

drivers seat, controls and cab can be eliminated.

It can be used in various fields like agriculture, medicine,

mining, and space

research .

It can be sent to another planet to study their environmental

conditions.

The machines could easily work around trees, rocks, ponds and

other obstacles.

Small suburban fields could be worked almost as efficiently as

large tracts of land.

GOALS AND PURPOSES:

To provide access to hazard environment.

Reduced operating costs due to lower cost of employing

robots.

Higher overall availability of robot workers (no lunch

breaks or vacations)

and many more.

To complete large amount of work in less time.

Literature Survey

IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Technical

Committee on Agricultural Robotics and Automation By

Marcel Bergerman, Eldert van Henten, John Billingsley,

John Reid, and Deng Mingcong

-June 2013

Agricultural Robotics

By John Billingsley, University of Southern Queensland;

Denny Oetomo University of Melbourne; and John Reid,

John Deere

-December 2009

IEEE spectrum.

Traditional Agriculture Vs Agricultural Robotics:

Agricultural Robotics

Field Robots Mobile Robots

Field Robots:

Field robots work with respect to environment and

medium. They change themselves according to the

required condition.

Mobile Robots:

Mobile robots are those which posses mobility withrespect

a medium. The entire system moves with respect to

environment.

TYPES OF ROBOTS USED IN AGRICULTURE:

Fruit picking robot.

Drones

Robot for weed control.

Forester robot.

Robot in horticulture.

Demeter (used for harvesting).

Micro-flying robot.

Fruit Picking Robot

The principles of fruit picking robots have been developed since

the early 1980's. These principles have opened up new

approaches to the harvesting of crops.

To start with, the fruit picking robots need to pick ripe fruit

without damaging the branches or leaves of the tree. Mobility is

a priority, and the robots must be able to access all areas of the

tree being harvested.

It goes then without saying that the robots must be intelligent,

and have a human-like interaction with their surroundings

through senses of touch, sight, and image processing.

The robot can distinguish between fruit and leaves by using

video image capturing.

The camera is mounted on the robot arm, and the colours

detected are compared with properties stored in memory.

If a match is obtained, the fruit is picked. If fruit is hidden by

leaves, an air jet can be used to blow leaves out the way so a

clearer view and access can be obtained.

The robot arm itself is coated in rubber to minimize any damage

to the tree. It has 5degrees of freedom, allowing it to move, in,

out, up, down, and in cylindrical and spherical motion patterns.

The pressure applied to the fruit is sufficient for removal from

the tree, but not enough to crush the fruit. This is accomplished

by a feedback process from the gripper mechanism, which is

driven by motors, hydraulics, or a pneumatic system.

The shape of the gripper depends on the fruit being picked, as

some fruits, such as plums, crush very easily, while others, like

oranges are not so susceptible to bruising.

The robots should have access to all areas of the orchard in

order to reach all of the fruit.

Forest Robot:

This is a special type of robot used for cutting up of wood,

tending trees, and pruning of X- mas tree and for harvesting

pulp and hard wood and in the forests.

It employs a special jaws and axes for chopping the branch. The

forester robot with six legged moves in the forest.

The picture shows the robot moving wood out of the forest. The

leg coordination is automated but still the navigation is done by

the human operator on the robot.

Drones In Farms

Using drones for crop surveillance can drastically increase farm

crop yields while minimizing the cost of walking the fields or

airplane fly-over filming.

Using Precision Vision™ Crop Health Imaging system, you can

view composite video showing the health of your crops.

The Benefits of Drones in Farming

Increase Yields

o Find potentially yield limiting problems in a timely

fashion.

Save Time

o While all farmers know the value of scouting their crops

few actually have time to cover the acres on foot.

Return on Investment

o At an average of $2 per acre for a walking visual

inspection or an aerial survey to take an image of crop

fields, the ROI on the purchase of an aerial helicopter

drone can be met quickly. In most operations, the ROI for

our drones can be achieved in a crop season or less,

leaving you owning a drone that reduces your operating

costs and improves your crop yield by giving you the

timely information you need for quick management

intervention.

Ease of use

o UAV products can be very complex to set-up and operate,

but with our preset standards we allow new operators to

have confidence in operating from the beginning.

Integrated GIS mapping

o Draw field borders for flight pattern

Crop Health Imaging

o Seeing the true health of your field in a color contrast

allows you to see how much sunlight is being absorbed by

the crop canopy.

Failsafe - The Drone Flies Home

o As an added safety net with the flip of switch your

Precision Drone will return to its original takeoff location

Swarm Robotics-Robobees:

'Swarm robotics' is a growing industry being put to use in

creative ways. The concept has been around for decades, but

groups of small robots working in teams to complete tasks has

come in handy on the conservation and agricultural front.

Researchers are looking for ways to include robot swarms in

agriculture as well. Swarms are able to identify weeds and

administer chemicals using less herbicide to do so.

Researchers are looking for ways to include robot swarms in

agriculture as well. Swarms are able to identify weeds and

administer chemicals using less herbicide to do so.

One famous example of swarm robotics was a project out of Harvard

University involving "Robobees." The "robobees" were used "to find an

artificial solution to pollination to address the current decline in the

global bee population."

Few More Interesting Robots in Agriculture:

ROSPHERE

LADY BIRD