1,993 research outputs found
Country life: agricultural technologies and the emergence of new rural subjectivities
Rural areas have long been spaces of technological experimentation, development and resistance. In the UK, this is especially true in the post-second world war era of productivist food regimes, characterised by moves to intensification. The technologies that have developed have variously aimed to increase yields, automate previously manual tasks, and create new forms of life. This review focuses on the relationships between agricultural technologies and rural lives. While there has been considerable media emphasis on the material modification, and creation, of new rural lives through emerging genetic technologies, the review highlights the role of technologies in co-producing new rural subjectivities. It does this through exploring relationships between agricultural technologies and gender, changing approaches to understanding and intervening in animal lives, and how automation shifts responsibility for productive work on farms. In each of these instances, even ostensibly mundane technologies can significantly affect what it is to be a farmer, a farm advisor or a farm animal. However, the review cautions against technological determinism, drawing on recent work from Science and Technology Studies to show that technologies do not simply reconfigure lives but are themselves transformed by the actors and activities with which they are connected. The review ends by suggesting avenues for future research
Safety functional requirements for “Robot Fleets for Highly effective Agriculture and Forestry Management”
This paper summarizes the steps to be followed in order to achieve a safety verified design of RHEA robots units. It provides a detailed description of current international standards as well as scientific literature related to safety analysis and fault detection and isolation. A large committee of partners has been involved in this paper, which may be considered as a technical committee for the revision of the progress of safety development throughout the progress of RHEA project. Partners related to agricultural machinery, automation, and application development declare the interest of providing a stable framework for bringing the safety verification level required to be able to commercial unmanned vehicles such as those described in the RHEA flee
A Review of Current and Historical Research Contributions to the Development of Ground Autonomous Vehicles for Agriculture
In this study, a comprehensive overview of the available autonomous ground platforms developed by universities and research groups that were specifically designed to handle agricultural tasks was performed. As cost reduction and safety improvements are two of the most critical aspects for farmers, the development of autonomous vehicles can be of major interest, especially for those applications that are lacking in terms of mechanization improvements. This review aimed to provide a literature evaluation of present and historical research contributions toward designing and prototyping agricultural ground unmanned vehicles. The review was motivated by the intent to disseminate to the scientific community the main features of the autonomous tractor named BOPS-1960, which was conceived in the 1960s at the Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna (UNIBO). Jointly, the main characteristics of the modern DEDALO unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) for orchard and vineyard operations that was designed recently were evaluated. The basic principles, technology and sensors used in the two UNIBO prototypes are described in detail, together with an analysis of UGVs for agriculture conceived in recent years by research centers all around the world
Task-based agricultural mobile robots in arable farming: A review
In agriculture (in the context of this paper, the terms “agriculture” and “farming” refer to only the farming of crops and exclude the
farming of animals), smart farming and automated agricultural technology have emerged as promising methodologies for increasing
the crop productivity without sacrificing produce quality. The emergence of various robotics technologies has facilitated the application
of these techniques in agricultural processes. However, incorporating this technology in farms has proven to be challenging because
of the large variations in shape, size, rate and type of growth, type of produce, and environmental requirements for different types of
crops. Agricultural processes are chains of systematic, repetitive, and time-dependent tasks. However, some agricultural processes
differ based on the type of farming, namely permanent crop farming and arable farming. Permanent crop farming includes permanent
crops or woody plants such as orchards and vineyards whereas arable farming includes temporary crops such as wheat and rice. Major
operations in open arable farming include tilling, soil analysis, seeding, transplanting, crop scouting, pest control, weed removal and
harvesting where robots can assist in performing all of these tasks. Each specific operation requires axillary devices and sensors with
specific functions. This article reviews the latest advances in the application of mobile robots in these agricultural operations for open
arable farming and provide an overview of the systems and techniques that are used. This article also discusses various challenges for
future improvements in using reliable mobile robots for arable farmin
Design and Development of an Autonomous System for Agricultural Tractor
This study describes the design and modification of a tractor for automatic control.
The automated system developed for the unmanned tractor was for the purpose of
master slave operation in the agricultural sector. In this study, an hydrostatic
transmission of the Kubota tractor was selected as the research platform.
Modifications were carried out in order to automate the manual control tractor. The
automated system was capable to direct the tractor to the target location given by the
user. The sensing system guides the tractor to move along the path determined by the
controller based on the information from the sensors.
The automated system was developed by combining of electromechanical system,
multi-sensor integration and control software. The electromechanical system (electrohydraulic
and electro-pneumatic) was used to control the gear, brake, steering and
accelerator system. The integration of sensors (Ultrasonic sensor, range sensor,
magnetic sensor, encoder and potentiometer) provided the surrounding information to
the tractor controller. The controller consists of series I/O modules (ICP 17000) and also pair of radio modem for data transmission. The graphical user interface software
to control the automated system was developed using the Visual Basic.
The automated system developed for ignition, gear, brake, accelerator and steering
systems can be control remotely through the use of Graphical User Interface (GUI).
The GUI has features, which enable the user to monitor the tractor condition and
movement of the tractor by referring to the simulation layer. The simtdation layer
consist of pre-determined field map, scaled at lcm: 1m.The simulation movement of
the tractor was configured to coordinate with the real tractor movement. The GUI also
enables the user to use keyboard to control the tractor movement. The GUI has a
capability to calculate the location of the given target location and plan the tractor
movement to the target location and assist the tractor to avoid the obstacle in the
tractor path
A Semi-Autonomous Multi-Vehicle Architecture for Agricultural Applications
The ageing population, climate change, and labour shortages in the agricultural sector are driving the need to reevaluate current farming practices. To address these challenges, the deployment of robot systems can help reduce environmental footprints and increase productivity. However, convincing farmers to adopt new technologies poses difficulties, considering economic viability and ease of use. In this paper, we introduce a management system based on the Robot Operating System (ROS) that integrates heterogeneous vehicles (conventional tractors and mobile robots). The goal of the proposed work is to ease the adoption of mobile robots in an agricultural context by providing to the farmer the initial tools needed to include them alongside the conventional machinery. We provide a comprehensive overview of the system’s architecture, the control laws implemented for fleet navigation within the field, the development of a user-friendly Graphical User Interface, and the charging infrastructure for the deployed vehicles. Additionally, field tests are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework.publishedVersio
Hortibot: Feasibility study of a plant nursing robot performing weeding operations – part IV
Based on the development of a robotic tool carrier (Hortibot) equipped with weeding tools, a feasibility study was carried out to evaluate the viability of this innovative technology. The feasibility was demonstrated through a targeted evaluation adapted to the obtainable knowledge on the system performance in horticulture.
A usage scenario was designed to set the implementation of the robotic system in a row crop of seeded bulb onions considering operational and functional constraints in organic crop, production. This usage scenario together with the technical specifications of the implemented system provided the basis for the feasibility analysis, including a comparison with a conventional weeding system. Preliminary results show that the automation of the weeding tasks within a row crop has the potential of significantly reducing the costs and still fulfill the operational requirements set forth.
The potential benefits in terms of operational capabilities and economic viability have been quantified. Profitability gains ranging from 20 to 50% are achievable through targeted applications. In general, the analyses demonstrate the operational and economic feasibility of using small automated vehicles and targeted tools in specialized production settings
Regulatory Justification of the Fundamental Concepts of Ergonomics in Wheeled Agricultural Machinery
A single-seated man-machine system (MMS) is formed when a person starts controlling a technical device or unit, while undergoing production processes. Production tasks for MMS are developed by the senior system and contain output work parameters, which are determined by the properties of the human operator and the technical subsystem. The purpose of the paper is to demonstrate the process of ensuring the working conditions of a single-seated MMS, the difficulties that arise upon performing tasks, including the content of regulatory acts, which are the technical foundation for the formation of the quality of operation of a single-seated MMS. Study results indicate external and internal restrictions that influence the efficient work of the human operator and are not provided for in regulatory standards, including ways to solve existing restrictions
Improving path-tracking performance of an articulated tractor-trailer system using a non-linear kinematic model
This paper presents a novel non-linear mathematical model of an articulated tractor-trailer system that can be used, in combination with receding horizon techniques, to improve the performance of path tracking tasks of articulated systems. Due to its dual steering mechanisms, this type of vehicle can be very useful in precision agriculture, particularly for seeding, spraying and harvesting in small fields. The articulated tractor-trailer system model was embedded within a non-linear model predictive controller and the trailer position was monitored. When the kinematic of the trailer was considered, the deviation of trailer's position was reduced substantially alongside not only straight paths but also in headland turns. Using the proposed mathematical model, we were able to control the trailer's position itself rather than the tractor's position. The Robot Operating System (ROS) framework and Gazebo simulator were used to perform realistic simulations examples.Fil: Murillo, Marina Hebe. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Investigación en Señales, Sistemas e Inteligencia Computacional. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias Hídricas. Instituto de Investigación en Señales, Sistemas e Inteligencia Computacional; ArgentinaFil: Sánchez, G.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Investigación en Señales, Sistemas e Inteligencia Computacional. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias Hídricas. Instituto de Investigación en Señales, Sistemas e Inteligencia Computacional; ArgentinaFil: Deniz, Nestor Nahuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Investigación en Señales, Sistemas e Inteligencia Computacional. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias Hídricas. Instituto de Investigación en Señales, Sistemas e Inteligencia Computacional; ArgentinaFil: Genzelis, Lucas Manuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Investigación en Señales, Sistemas e Inteligencia Computacional. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias Hídricas. Instituto de Investigación en Señales, Sistemas e Inteligencia Computacional; ArgentinaFil: Giovanini, Leonardo Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Investigación en Señales, Sistemas e Inteligencia Computacional. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias Hídricas. Instituto de Investigación en Señales, Sistemas e Inteligencia Computacional; Argentin
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