Challenge 3
Agriculture Robotics for Plant Care
Challenge title and general facts
Name: Agriculture Robotics for Plant Care
The big idea: Environmentally friendly agriculture
Challenge type: Standard, Strategic, Nano
Challenge owner: The challenge is coordinated University
of Twente (Netherlands)
Facilitator: Jochen Dickel
Facilitator Contact data: Jochen.Dickel@fh-mittelstand.de
CBL scenario, the challenge is related to the topic Robotic & IoT
Context & relevance: in general relating to SDG / specific to a field of vocational application
Innovation in terms of robotics applications in agriculture has advanced during in the last 5 years. The objective of agricultural robotics is to help the sector in its efficiency and in the profitability of the processes. In other words, mobile robotics works in the agricultural sector to improve productivity, specialisation and environmental sustainability. Factors such as labour shortages, rising consumer demand and high production costs have accelerated automation in the sector to reduce costs and optimise harvests.
Some applications in agriculture for which Robotnik is used:
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Detecting the condition of crops and applying chemicals accordingly, spraying or harvesting, depending on the needs of the fruit or plant.
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Mobile robots for harvesting and processing
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Collection and transformation of useful information for the farmer.
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Selective use of pesticides.
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Selection to avoid food waste
https://robotnik.eu/robotics-applications-in-agriculture/#pll_switcher
Variants of the challenge
In order to recognize the condition of a plant and to be able to use appropriate pesticides in a targeted and gentle manner, certain agricultural machines have appropriate sensors
With the help of these sensors and data processing, the condition of the plant can be determined by changes in leaf color and shape.
Variant 1: Develop an information architecture for a simple agriculture robot that uses a color sensor to detect darkly discolored plant leaves and then treats the leaf with pesticide.
Variant 2: Develop Information architecture and an simple Arduino prototype of a simple agriculture robot that uses a color sensor to detect darkly discolored plant leaves and then treats the leaf with pesticide.
Business partner in an industry or a research field
Business partner: N/A
Manufacturer of Agricultural machinery, Agriculture Robotics, Agriculture Robotics research Institutes
The interest of these Partners is in:
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Attracting young professionals
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Employee branding
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Expanding cooperation with universities
Possible cooperation could consist of:
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Material support (e.g. hardware)
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Know how support (e.g. software)
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Sponsoring (e.g. laboratory materials)
Prerequisites of the learners
Functional requirements
Software: for Application Modelling and -Programming,
Hardware: Robotic System and Components (e.g. color sensors, robot arm, …
Working Space: complete Mobile? Software lab, Robotic Lab?
Impact
Robotic systems enable innovative methods for the environmentally friendly management of agricultural land. By means of special sensor and actuator technology, the use of chemical agents for pest control can be reduced to a minimum. This not only protects the environment but also reduces the need for cost-intensive chemical substances.
Evaluation methods: for example, by comparing the use of chemical agents without and with the aid of robotics.
Open Issues and questions
How can we estimate the workload related to Competence and Challenge level?
How can we define what kind of support the learners get related to their competence level?
How far should specific hardware be assumed?
Which standard methods (e.g. software modelling) are required?
