Agricultural Robots

Presented by
Hamayal Wajid Lodhi
Aleena Ahmed Khan
Maria Aziz
 Introduction
Robots
• A robot is a mechanical, artificial agent and is
usually an electromechanical system. It is a
device that, because of software
programming, makes complicated tasks easy
to perform.
Vitirover solar robot-
cutting grass and weeds in
vines
 Definition
Agricultural robotics
• Agricultural robotics is the use of automation
in bio systems such as agriculture, forestry,
and fisheries. It is replacing the conventional
techniques to perform the same tasks, with
efficiency.
• Applying automation to agriculture has helped
create several advancements to the industry
while helping farmers save money and time.
Difference between automized
and conventional techniques
Conventional techniques depend on
human power and old techniques

Robots can work non stop, humans need

rest

Human may not be able to work in

hazardous environments

large sized wheels required in muddy soils,

robots small sized wheels perform well.
Robot scouts get detailed info about crop
Robots can detect presence of diseases,
weeds, insect infestations and other stress
conditions.
The lightweight of the robots do not
compact the soil as larger machinery does
 Why Agricultural Robots are
preferred
• We can expect the robots to perform
agricultural operations autonomously such as
spraying and mechanical weed control, fruit
picking, watching the farms day & night for an
effective report, allowing farmers to reduce
the environmental impact, increase precision
and efficiency, and manage individual plants in
novel ways.
 Techniques involving
Agricultural Robots
• Processes like
ploughing, seeding, fertilizing, weeding, harve
sting, spraying etc. require large amount man
power. Hence in order to reduce this
need, and save time and money, robots are
employed

API Platform MF- Scamp robots for scouting, weeding and

harvesting
 Ploughing • primary process; the top soil is mixed and
turned to prepare a seed bed, burying the
(Seed bed surface crop residue.
preparation)

• Recording geospatial position of each seed as

it goes under ground is “seed mapping”
Seed • checking and counting seed by placing an
mapping infrared sensor below the seed chute. Seed
cuts infrared beam and triggers a data logger
that records a position orientation of seeder.
 • This is the concept of being able to
Reseeding identify where the seed was not placed
and can automatically place another seed
in same position.

• Placing seeds so that they get maximum

air, light, water
Seed • a hexagonal or triangular seeding pattern
placement , or less space in row n more between
rows may be applied by using robots
TYPES OF ROBOTS USED IN
AGRICULTURE
TYPES OF ROBOTS USED IN
AGRICULTURE

1. Demeter (used for harvesting).

2. Robot for weed control.
3. Forester robot.
4. Robot in horticulture.
5. Fruit picking robot.
Field robots work with respect to environment and
medium. They change themselves according to the
required condition.
Mobile robots are those which posses mobility with
respect to a medium. The entire system moves with
respect to environment.
Demeter- Robot farmer
•Demeter is a robot that can cut crops it looks like a normal
harvester, but can drive by itself without any human
supervision.
•Demeter has cameras on it that can detect the difference
between the crop that has been cut and crop that hasn’t.
•This information tells it where to drive, where to put its cutter
head, and when it has come to the end of a crop row so it can
turn around.
•The Demeter robot can also be driven by remote control. Or,
Demeter can be taught a path, and then follow that path using
its on board sensors and computer control systems.
The Demeter system strives to provide three levels of
automation:
•First, a “cruise control” feature, which will
automatically steer, drive and control the harvesting
header, will be provided to harvester operators.
•“drone” feature will be provided, allowing one
operator to remotely control several harvesters.
•Thirdly, a fully autonomous machine will be
developed that will allow a harvester to completely
harvest a field with no human supervision.
 Weed Controller
•A four-wheel-drive weed-seeking robot was
developed and the task of the weed-removing device
is to remove or destroy the weed.
•Crops that are grown in rows can be weeded by
running a hoe between the crop rows.
•An intelligent hoe uses vision systems to identify the
rows of crops, and steer itself accurately between
them, considerably reducing the need for herbicides
•Weed identification is based on colour photography.
The equipped robot helps production of weed maps
identifying plant.
 Robotic gantry
•Traditional spraying can be very efficient,
especially when they cover large areas.
•The robotic gantry could apply both liquid
sprays and fertilizer and be able to regulate
itself according to current weather conditions.
•If it became too windy then the gantry could
just stop and wait until conditions improved.
•Sensing systems could be mounted on a trolley
that could move along the spray boom as in the
crop scouting section.
 Forest Robots
Treebot:
•A fearless mobile robot is helping scientists monitor environmental
changes in forests.
•Treebot consists of combine networked sensors, a web cam, and a
wireless net link.
•It is solar-powered and moves up and down special cables to take
samples and measurements for vital analysis.
•It is very important in the biology community to understand the
interaction between the atmosphere and the forest environment.
•But 90% of all interaction between the environment and
atmospheric conditions happens high up in the forest canopy.
•The Treebot helps by being stealthy enough to travel through the
forest canopy along specially constructed cabling, night and day.
Forester 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.
•Robot In Horticulture
•Robo is used in lawns to cut the grass in lawns.
•It can cut any lawn, regardless of its geometric
shape.
•In automatic mode, a fully charged Robo-mower can
typically mow a lawn of 2500 to 3200 sq. ft.,
depending on the number of obstacles in its path,
slopes, height of grass, humidity, etc.
•It operates electrically on rechargeable batteries,
mulching blades, whisper quiet operation and
without any pollution.
•Fruit picking robot:
•The fruit picking robots need to pick ripe fruit
without damaging the branches or leaves of
the tree.
•The robots must be able to access all areas of
the tree being harvested.
•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.
•It can 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.
•The shape of the gripper depends on the
fruit being picked.
 Advantages of Using Agricultural

Agricultural robots are capable of collecting crop and

soil samples.
They are small in size, which allows them to be able to
accumulate data close to the crops.
They are also capable of mowing, spraying pesticides,
finding diseases or parasites, and performing mechanical
weeding.
Agricultural robots may have cameras and sensors which
detect weeds and other forms of stress.
Their sensors are used to spray only the area affected
by the parasite instead of the entire crop
This has helped to protect our environment by
reducing the amount of harmful chemicals released
in the air.
Not only are they used in agriculture, but also in
forestry, green house, horticulture etc.
Farmers are interested in using robots to tend fields
of crops, pick fruit, or even maintain animal.
Experiments are being done to produce world’s
smallest, weightless robot for using them as scouts in
fields.
Using robots means the opportunity of replacing human
operators, which provides effective solutions with return on
investment.

Robots are useful when the duties, that need be

performed, are potentially harmful for the safety or the health
of the workers, or when more conservative issues are granted
by robotics.

Heavy chemicals or drugs dispensers, manure or fertilizers

spreaders, etc. are activities more and more concerned by
the deployment of unmanned options.

The Robot does not get sick or tired and does not need time
off.
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.
 Disadvantages
 One of the key disadvantages of driverless
machines for agriculture is liabilityAccess to
the technology.
Not currently scale neutral.
Better sensors would help.
 Improved scouting programs would be
essential.
 Nevertheless, a periodic human presence
in the field is likely to be necessary for the
near future.
Robots could change the culture /emotional
appeal of agriculture.
Energy issues, costly.
FUTURE
SCOPE
 FLYING MICRO REBOTS

• Scientists from around the world are designing midget robots to

scout battlefields, search for victims trapped in rubble, and
record images in agricultural fields.
• The world’s smallest micro robot was placed in the geniuses
book of world record and consists of propeller by which it can fly
to heights these features include the ability to zero in and land
precisely on a potato chip and then flap their wings to buzz off
with blazing speed.
• It is expected that it can be used in agriculture for the control
of weed and insects.
 Agriculture
Agriculture Robot Suit
Robot Suit

• The robot suit is designed specifically to help out with tough

agricultural work like pulling radishes.

• The suit has eight motors fitted over the shoulders, elbows,
back and knees to provide a power boost to the wearer.
• The current model weighs 55 pounds and uses 16 sensors to
function.

• Designers are hoping to continue to work with the suit to reduce

the weight.
 Vitirover Solar Robot Used
In Vines To Cuts Grass and
Weeds
• The robots are used from a while in agriculture and in future the
numbers of robots used in different agricultural fields will be
increased.
• A French company designs a smart autonomous robot called
Vitirover.
• The little robot uses the sun to power the electrical motors.
• Since the vineyard is large it was a bad idea to store the energy
into a battery and when the battery has lower power to return at
base for recharging the battery.

• Using a solar panel this agricultural autonomous machine could

work for hundred hours without pause.
• It could cuts grass and weeds to within 2-to-3 cm of vine and
has a speed that allows him to work 500 meters per hour.
• For owner is important to not damage the vines and the sensors is
equipped with sensors that keeps the grass cutting blades away
from vines. Vitirover could work in slopes of 15% and uses GPS
coordinates for each parcel when the robot should work.
Vitirover Solar Robot
 CONCLUSION

This equipment may In agriculture, the

be in our future, but opportunities for robot-
there are important enhanced productivity
reasons for thinking are immense – and the
that it may not be robots are appearing on
just replacing the farms in various guises
human driver with a and in increasing
computer. numbers.
 Continue…
It may mean a One of the advantages of the
rethinking of how crop smaller machines is that they may
production is done. be more acceptable to the non-farm
Crop production may community. The jobs in agriculture
be done better and are a drag, dangerous, require
cheaper with a swarm intelligence and quick, though
of small machines than highly repetitive decisions hence
with a few large ones. robots can be rightly substituted
with human operator.
The higher quality products can
be sensed by machines
(colour.firmness, weight, densit
y, ripeness, size, shape)
accurately. Robots can improve
the quality of our lives but there
are downsides.