Despite the large diffusion of robotic and automated solutions that took place during the last decades in most production processes, the agricultural sector only marginally benefited from automated solutions (such as the control of climatic parameters in greenhouses) while robotic applications have been confined so far almost only to research studies with few particular and specific applications made available for farmers. This lack of advanced robotic solutions in agriculture and particularly in intensive farming cannot be motivated claiming a lack of interest for the latest results of technology and research in this sector. The use of latest results of genetics for the production of hybrid flower plants is one of the many examples that contradicts this kind of argument and shows how much the agricultural sector is keen to the opportunities offered by modern technology and research. The motivation for the little development that robotic solutions deserved so far in the agricultural sector lies elsewhere. On one side it is related to some particularities of the specific sector, like the fact that farming is usually performed in an unstructured environment that is therefore less friendly for robotic solutions than a well structured industrial environment. On the other side a consistent share of the research effort conducted so far, mainly tried to use standard industrial robotic solutions adapting them to the intensive farming sector. In our opinion the approach should be revised looking for new specific robotic solutions that take advantage of the specific peculiarities and needs of the agricultural sector that are different from those of the industry. In this context there are important challenges related to the identification of feasible solutions that overcome specific constraints encountered in the farming context. At the same time there is a whole new sector which is ripe for adopting robotic solutions that can be a very effective tool to increase the quality of products, to improve the safety for the workers in the sector, to reduce pollution and environmental impact, and to ensure higher productivity. In this paper the state of the art of robotic research and of available robotic solutions in intensive agriculture is presented first. The particular features that valuable robotic solutions should deserve for agricultural applications are then outlined discussing also which are, in the authors’ opinion, the most promising research directions for the next years. Such research should address different problems to develop competences and build new knowledge needed for developing valuable practical solutions suited for the specific agricultural sector. Finally some research results attained by the authors along some of the lines previously described are illustrated.

Robotics for improving quality, safety and productivity in intensive agriculture: challenges and opportunities

GAY, Paolo;RICAUDA AIMONINO, Davide
2007-01-01

Abstract

Despite the large diffusion of robotic and automated solutions that took place during the last decades in most production processes, the agricultural sector only marginally benefited from automated solutions (such as the control of climatic parameters in greenhouses) while robotic applications have been confined so far almost only to research studies with few particular and specific applications made available for farmers. This lack of advanced robotic solutions in agriculture and particularly in intensive farming cannot be motivated claiming a lack of interest for the latest results of technology and research in this sector. The use of latest results of genetics for the production of hybrid flower plants is one of the many examples that contradicts this kind of argument and shows how much the agricultural sector is keen to the opportunities offered by modern technology and research. The motivation for the little development that robotic solutions deserved so far in the agricultural sector lies elsewhere. On one side it is related to some particularities of the specific sector, like the fact that farming is usually performed in an unstructured environment that is therefore less friendly for robotic solutions than a well structured industrial environment. On the other side a consistent share of the research effort conducted so far, mainly tried to use standard industrial robotic solutions adapting them to the intensive farming sector. In our opinion the approach should be revised looking for new specific robotic solutions that take advantage of the specific peculiarities and needs of the agricultural sector that are different from those of the industry. In this context there are important challenges related to the identification of feasible solutions that overcome specific constraints encountered in the farming context. At the same time there is a whole new sector which is ripe for adopting robotic solutions that can be a very effective tool to increase the quality of products, to improve the safety for the workers in the sector, to reduce pollution and environmental impact, and to ensure higher productivity. In this paper the state of the art of robotic research and of available robotic solutions in intensive agriculture is presented first. The particular features that valuable robotic solutions should deserve for agricultural applications are then outlined discussing also which are, in the authors’ opinion, the most promising research directions for the next years. Such research should address different problems to develop competences and build new knowledge needed for developing valuable practical solutions suited for the specific agricultural sector. Finally some research results attained by the authors along some of the lines previously described are illustrated.
2007
Industrial Robotics: Programming, Simulation and Applications
ARS
677
690
9783866112865
robotics and automation
G. BELFORTE; P. GAY; D. RICAUDA AIMONINO
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2318/12649
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