B. S. Blackmore

Agricultural robots—system analysis and economic feasibility

This paper focuses on the economic feasibility of applying autonomous robotic vehicles compared to conventional systems in three different applications: robotic weeding in high value crops (particularly sugar beet), crop scouting in cereals and grass cutting on golf courses. The comparison was based on a systems analysis and an individual economic feasibility study for each of the three applications. The results showed that in all three scenarios, the robotic applications are more economically feasible than the conventional systems. The high cost of real time kinematics Global Positioning System (RTK-GPS) and the small capacity of the vehicles are the main parameters that increase the cost of the robotic systems.

Seed Mapping of Sugar Beet

Abstract.Individual plant care may well become embodied in precision farming in the future and will lead to new opportunities in agricultural crop management. The objective of this project was to develop and evaluate a data logging system attached to a precision seeder to enable high accuracy seed position mapping of a field of sugar beet. A Real Time Kinematic Global Positioning System (RTK GPS), optical seed detectors and a data logging system were retrofitted on to a precision seeder to map the seeds as they were planted. The average error between the seed map and the actual plant map was about 16–43 mm depending on vehicle speed and seed spacing. The results showed that the overall accuracy of the estimated plant positions was acceptable for the guidance of vehicles and implements as well as potential individual plant treatments.

Adoption and perspectives of precision farming in Denmark

Precision farming (PF) and site-specific input application based on GPS has been a management tool and option for arable farmers for about 10 years. About 400 Danish farmers have already adopted some PF practices on their farms. This adoption and the technical and economic perspectives of PF have been studied in two mail surveys, personal interviews and focus groups with farmers, advisers and experts. Farmers and stakeholders are in general optimistic about the future perspectives of these high-technology systems despite the difficulties in showing the economic and environmental gains. Lack of compatibility between different technical systems is however mentioned as a barrier for adoption.

A METHOD TO DEFINE AGRICULTURAL ROBOT BEHAVIOURS

A new method is described that can be used to decompose human controlled agricultural operations into an autonomous tractor. Four main levels of subsumption have been identified: Operation, Task, Optimisation and Primitive Actions where each level is subsumed by the level above. Tasks were classified into two distinctive roles, deterministic tasks that can be planned and optimised before the operation begins and reactive tasks and their associated behaviours that deal with unknown conditions whilst in the field. The tasks and optimisations can be further decomposed into primitive actions, which in turn are converted into the tractor directrix. Examples of this method are given for exploring an unknown area and ploughing a field.