Automation and Robotics in Agriculture

Description

Recent progressions in mechanized farming technology have radically transformed the current agricultural industry to fulfill the rising and incessantly changing needs of consumers around the globe. To ensure the sufficient supply and production of quality crop plants, agriculture robots have appeared as a potential solution. Apart from robotic harvesting mechanisms, agricultural robots have enhanced the efficiency of planting, slicing, food preservation, and resource tracking. These robotic developments have proven beneficial for determining farmworker labor scarcities and growing crop yields. Both of these benefits are critical to ensure sustainable food production for consumers around the globe. This book provides a comprehensive review of key advances in the use of robots in agriculture. Although automation and robotics are making rapid inroads into different areas of agricultural farming, there is a great demand for improvement of existing robotic technology and the development of novel techniques. Eight chapters of this book summarise advances in guidance and location systems, machine vision, GPS technologies, actuation, navigation, control technologies, and communication. This book encompasses all of the fundamental aspects of automation and robotic technology used in agriculture. Therefore, this book can be considered as reference material for readers from diverse backgrounds including forestry, agriculture, robotics, and automobiles industry. Cover Copyright ABOUT THE AUTHOR TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures List of Tables List of Abbreviations Acknoledgement Preface Chapter 1 Fundamentals of Automation and Robotics 1.1. Introduction 1.2. Automatic Systems and Robots 1.3. Evolution and Applications of Robots 1.4. Examples and Technical Characteristics of Industrial Robots 1.5. Evaluation of Robotization References Chapter 2 Introduction to Agricultural Automation 2.1. Introduction 2.2. Field Machinery 2.3. Irrigation Systems 2.4. Greenhouse Automation 2.5. Animal Automation Systems 2.6. Fruit Production Operations References Chapter 3 Robotics For Agricultural Systems 3.1. Introduction 3.2. Radicchio Harvester 3.3. Fennel Cutting System 3.4. Experimental Applications of Agricultural Robotics References Chapter 4 Application of Machine Vision Systems In Crop Farming 4.1. Introduction 4.2. Plant And Fruit Detection Approaches 4.3. Harvest Support Approaches 4.4. Plant/Fruit Health Protection And Disease Detection Approaches 4.5. Camera Types Used For Machine Vision In Agriculture 4.6. Vision-Based Vehicle Guidance Systems For Agricultural Applications 4.7. Vision-Based Agro-Bots References Chapter 5 Integration of Actuation Mechanisms In Agricultural Systems 5.1. Introduction 5.2. Perception System: Localization And Weed Detection 5.3. Actuation/Sensing In Crops 5.4. Perception-Actuation Integration And Decision Making References Chapter 6 Human-Robot Interaction In Agricultural Systems 6.1. Introduction 6.2. Concepts Of Human-Robot Interactions 6.3. Humans, Robots, And Farmable Field References Chapter 7 Automatic Spraying Robots For Agricultural Use 7.1. Introduction 7.2. Background of Automatic Agricultural Spraying 7.3. Design Considerations of The System 7.4. Software Details References Chapter 8 Economics and Applications of Agricultural Robots 8.1. Introduction 8.2. Economics 8.3. Crop Establishment 8.4. Crop Scouting 8.5. Selective Harvesting 8.6. Economic Scenarios 8.7. Field Scouting For Weed Detection References Index Back Cover