Development of Autonomous Robots for Agricultural Applications

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Abstract. Two autonomous robots were developed as platforms for crop/soil scouting and future robotic field operations. The robots have differing technological philosophies. AgBo is a flexible industrial style robot with a sophisticated steering, sensing and communication arrangement. It has independent four-wheel steering, four steering modes (including crabbing and spinning) and inclination control. A SICK laser range finder, combined with an electronic compass, was used for crop guidance. The main communication among sensors, actuators and controllers was implemented using a Controller Area Network (CAN). AgTracker, in contrast, was built with ruggedness, simplicity and low cost in mind. It features simple skid steering and an arrangement of eight low-cost infrared sensors, two ultrasonic sensors and an electronic compass were used for crop guidance. All of these functions, including Remote Control were implemented using a single microcontroller and no communication network was applied. AgTracker’s simplicity and ruggedness make it a strong candidate for a generic platform for scientists to develop autonomous crop scouts and field operation machines. This could refocus the research emphasis from the robots themselves to the