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AUTOMATION,
AND
WHERE WE HAVE
BEEN
Many
of
the worldsmore
technologically developed
countries havebeen working in agricultural robotics and
intelligent machines. Many experimentalmodelshavebeen
built, and a few have been produced commercially. There
are
some intelligent devicesbeing usedin grading and sorting
operations. According to a report by Johnson [3], the Sunkist
Corporation has developeda citrus grading machine. It grades
the fruit according to its size, color, blemishesand scars, and
frost injury. Two presently used installations in California
each have an operating
capacity of approximately 480fruit per
minute. One is used in a lemon packinghouseand the other in
an orange packinghouse.
Vision systems are also being used extensively in food
processing. Some of the applications include a broken yolk
detector in commercialeggbreakingmachines;a
defectremovalsystem for potatofrenchfry
strips; acucumber
sorting and gradingmachine;
a chocolate candy coating
inspector; and a machine to detect defective pizza crusts [9].
One of the most sophisticated prototype agricultural robots
can be found in Australia. TheUniversity
of Western
Australia has done extensive work on a robotic sheep shearer
[7]. Thesheep is constrained with straps onamovable
platform similar to the ones usedin hospitals for holding
patients for brain scans. The platform can be movedin all
three dimensionstoanydesired
position. A few manual
measurements such as the shoulder width and length between
the front and back legs of the sheep are used by the computer
to predict the surface path for the clipping shears to follow.
Manuscript received January 14, 1986; revised July 13, 1986.
Hydraulically positioned clippers controlled by the computer
The author is with the Agricultural Engineering Department, Louisiana
do the actual shearing of the wool. The path computations are
Agricultural Experiment Station, Louisiana State University Agricultural
continually updatedduring the shearing process. PressureCenter, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA.
IEEE
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FEBRUARY 1987
grain, 2) the ambient air, and 3) the heated air. The dryermust direction, and rainfall. The information is stored on microbe able to control the amount of air recirculated through the computerdata-loggingsystems.Thesesystemsarequeried
grain and the amount of heat added to the drying air. It may each day by a central computer via a modem and telephone
under some conditions also need to dehumidifythe drying air. line and automatically uploadtheir data to the central computer
Additionally, the dryer must also have anaccurate understand- for use by researchers using the pest and plant growth models.
Smarter Machines: Room still exists for improving grain
ing of the behavior of the grain. It would contain a detailed
model of the grains behavior under various drying
conditions. harvesters and planters. If reliable and accuratesensors
It must know under what conditions the grain will stress or existed for measuring the moisturecontent of the grain
crack, how long it can remain at different moisture contents entering the harvester andthe amount of grain lost out the rear
adjusted to
without spoiling, and how quickly moisture can be removed of the machine, the machine could be automatically
from the grain under different drying regimes. The dryermust meet varyingharvesting conditions. An instantaneous soil
be able to determine whether itis more economical to dry the moisture sensor could be mounted on a planter to place the
grain with ambient air or if supplemental heat is required. seeds at the optimum depth for the amount of moisture
Since much research has already been done modeling corn, present. Any machine which would reduce the harvesting or
soybeans, rice, and other grains, we may
be
close to planting costs should have a ready market.
Meat Processing: Some robotics possibilities exist in the
developing this ideal dryer, at least for some grains.
IrrigationScheduling: Applying anadequateamount of meat processing plants. Some of the tasks, particularly those
water without any excess to a crop becomes more important
as requiring saws orknives, can be very hazardous. A robotwith
a vision system could perform many of the cutting, slicing,
waterresourcesdwindle
and pumping costs increase.
irrigation system should apply the proper amount of water to and other meat handling operations. A studyby the University
the plant when it will best use it, and in a manner which will of Florida Agricultural EngineeringDepartment 131 preminimize losses through evaporation, runoff, or percolation dicted a present worth value of more than ten million dollars
through the soil. This requires a system that understands the by using a robotic/automation systemin the poultry processing
soil type and condition and the plants response to water in plant chosen for their case study.
various weather conditions and stages of growth. There are
BARRIERS
TO AGRICULTURAL
ROBOTICS
sensors available that can measure soil moisture conditions in
some specific situations over limited soil moisture ranges.
The following list some prevailing barriers to agricultural
However, none exist which can be used in all soil types and robotics. Sense of Direction: The future of agricultural
moisture ranges, and these two factors can both vary widely
robotics in this country is not altogether clear. One of the
even within a single field. There also remains work to be done problems is the present uncertainty in the direction of
on cropmodelsto accurately predict when the plantmost
American agriculture. There isnot a consistent long-term
needs additional moisture. An alternative method to using crop nationalpolicy or direction for agriculture. Many of .the
models wouldbe
to use plant stress sensors to actually international markets for United States agricultural products
measure the water stress of the plant in the field. Letting the havedisappeared or diminishedover the pastfew years.
plant itself indicate when water was needed could be the most Former customers arenow our competitors. The good news is
direct solution to the problem. Work is continuing in this area. that this may result in our producers becoming more efficient.
The irrigation scheduler would also have to know the costs of The competitive pressures
of other countries may wellresult in
irrigation so it could select the maximum profit point located a growing utilization of robotics and intelligent machines in
somewhere betweenthe point of lowest cost (no irrigation) and order tomeet the challenges. We will always need a significant
maximum yield (all the water the plant can use.)
capability for producing affordable food and fiber.
PestControl:
Weeds, insects, and diseases must
be
Low Value Product:Many agricultural commodities have
controlled to achieve peak crop production. Computermodels a low per-unit value. Robots tend to handle objects one at a
are neededwhich can accurately describe the growth and time, andtheymustneed
to be manipulating objects with
behavior of the various plant pests both individually and in
relatively high value in order to be justified.
interaction with one another. Pest growth models have been
Variable Product:Nature is not known for its uniformity,
developed in many universities with varying levels of success. but robotic devices function best with well-defined, uniform
The usefulness of the computer models are dependent upon products. If, for example, all orangeswere the same size,
accurate mathematical descriptions of the various pest physhape, and color, and if they always grew at a set of known
siologies and upon the accuracy of the inputs (initial levels of positions on a tree, a robotic orangepicker wouldbe a
relatively straightforward machine to develop. The randominfestation andweather).Mostof
the NationalWeather
Service weather stations are located in metropolitan areas and ness of nature makes the agricultural robot more difficult to
quite often at airports. Obviously, better pest control could be develop.
achieved by using locally measuredweather conditions to
Variable Work Space: The plant positions and orientation
drive the pest computer modelsand predict the optimal time to in the row may change from one plant to the next. The fields
apply the pesticides. Several states, including Louisiana and may have irregular shapes and topography withobstacles such
Nebraska, have established networks of rural weather stations as drainage ditches, irrigation hoses, fences, and trees.
that continuously measure and record air
andsoil tempera- Different crops will have different row spacings. A field robot
tures, solar radiation, pan evaporation, windspeedand
must be able to work on uneven terrain, insoil conditions
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So the bottom
ag story, we are
we have lost the
competingin
a
advantage.