Autonomous Crop-Row Robot Platform for In-Season Fertilizer Precision
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing agricultural systems face challenges in efficiently applying fertilizers between planted rows and beneath the canopy of mature crops on uneven terrain, leading to nutrient loss and inefficiency, while current robotic systems are either too large or require expensive installations, and there is a need for coordinated, efficient in-season management across multiple fields.
Innovation Solution
An autonomous vehicle platform system capable of navigating between and beneath planted rows, equipped with self-direction programming, refilling stations, and various implements for tasks like fertilizer application, mapping, and seeding, allowing for precise and efficient in-season management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If conventional fertilizer application methods are used, then fertilizer can be applied to fields, but significant nutrient loss occurs through runoff, volatilization, and denitrification
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary assessment of crop nitrogen status using optical sensors and satellite imagery before applying fertilizer. This allows fertilizer application to be timed and targeted based on actual crop needs rather than following a fixed schedule, preventing both deficiency and excessive application that leads to loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies fertilizer at variable rates across different zones of the field based on local crop nitrogen status, soil conditions, and canopy characteristics. This site-specific approach ensures that fertilizer is applied only where needed at the appropriate amount, minimizing runoff and denitrification losses while maintaining productivity.
2Volume of moving object
If large robotic systems are used for field operations, then they have sufficient capacity for equipment and supplies, but they cannot navigate between planted rows and require expensive field installations
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the field into manageable zones and uses multiple smaller autonomous robotic platforms that can navigate between rows. Each robot is equipped with essential equipment for its specific tasks, and the distributed architecture allows the system as a whole to cover large areas without requiring each individual robot to have enormous capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The robotic platforms navigate in the vertical dimension by operating beneath the crop canopy at appropriate heights, and in the horizontal dimension by moving between rows. This multi-dimensional navigation capability allows access to areas that would be inaccessible to larger conventional equipment without requiring field modifications.
3Productivity
If multiple robotic platforms operate independently, then they can cover large areas, but coordination and avoidance of collisions becomes complex
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic platforms continuously exchange position, speed, and task status information through wireless communication. Each robot adjusts its trajectory and operations in real-time based on feedback from other platforms and central coordination, enabling efficient coverage of large areas while automatically avoiding collisions without requiring complex centralized control.
Solution Approach 2:
Each robotic platform is equipped with autonomous navigation and collision avoidance capabilities, allowing it to independently adjust its operations based on the positions and activities of other platforms. This self-service approach reduces the coordination burden on central systems while maintaining high productivity across the entire fleet.
Data Source
AI summary
An autonomous vehicle platform system and method configured to perform various in-season management tasks, including selectively applying fertilizer, mapping growth zones and seeding cover crop within an agricultural field, while self-navigating between rows of planted crops and beneath the canopy of the planted crops on the uneven terrain of an agricultural field, allowing for an ideal in-season application of fertilizer to occur once the planted crop is well established and growing rapidly, in an effort to limit the loss of fertilizer.