Information on the mechanization of agriculture, gardening, components and multifunctionality.
Technology

Rhea project: a fleet of robots for farming

Electronic systems for the management of crop operations have been developed through an important European Union project funded in connection with the 7th Framework Program. Some of the technologies developed by Italian universities have been carefully evaluated and fully approved by the evaluation commission created by the EU

by Andrea Peruzzi, Marco Vieri
November 2015 | Back

New technologies have been developed and are becoming increasingly widespread in recent years for assisting the precise management of agricultural and forestry lands. These innovations are normally included in the broader concept of “Precision Agriculture” which consists of the differentiated management of agricultural land by considering spacial variability. Moreover, the use of automated systems, that is, robots, mark a further step ahead for this trend of automation of agriculture. For this trend it is feasible to predict for the near future that agricultural mechanization will assist in a very real revolution backed by machines of this type. In this setting, the RHEA Research Project (Robot Fleets for Highly Effective Agriculture and Forestry Management) was pursued from 2010 to 2014 with funding by the European Union 7th Framework Program. The project featured a multidisciplinary approach which, overall, brought together fifteen European partners which included universities, research centers, spin-off companies and private firms involving various types of technical, engineering and agronomic skills in the fields of robotics, IT, agrarian mechanics, weed science and telecommunications. The objective was to design, create and test an automatic and robotic site-specific system for control of infestations of herbaceous species for performing plant treatment operations on tree and forest species. This important goal was pursued with a fleet of robots made up of ground and aerial units working in close contact with each other. Each unit was equipped with a system for acquisition and actuation and was able to operate in three different scenarios: chemical control on wheat infestations and physical control, mechanical and thermal, on maize and for plant treatment of olive groves.

 

The role and achievements of Italian agrarian mechanics

An automated machine for the site-specific control of infestations of maize was designed and built by the University of Pisa for the application of thermal weeding at variable intervals according to the percentage of weed cover detected by an optic sensor.

The equipment, three meters in length with five rigid hoes, one central goose foot anchor and one or two lateral tools, working selectively between rows with four pairs of burners actuating site-specific control of the infestations along the maize rows (cross-flaming).

On the basis of the infestation cover detected by the optic sensor the thermal treatments were performed with variable doses of GPL. This application made it possible to reduce GPL from 30% to 80% compared to treatment of the entire surface. The flow of gas from the canister to the burners is managed by a programmable logic controller (PLC) made up of a CPU connected to input and output modules. After detection of the extent of infestation cover by the optic sensor the PLC sends a signal to the appropriate electrovalve and at the same time activates the transformers connected to an ignition electrode. The outside of the burners is covered and fitted inside are pierced rods which produce a flat flame. The outside cover is pierced for secondary air intakes. The ignition system is based on plasma electrodes which produce flames almost instantaneously, that its, 0.39 s after the opening of the electrovalve and activation of the transformers. The machine is foldable and was built in a size to allow it to be legally transported on public roads. To make certain the machine follows the direction given by the autonomous tractor driving system and thereby avoids damaging the crop it is equipped with an automatic steering system.

 

Automatic sprayer for the targeted distribution

of pesticides on tree crops

The autonomous sprayer for managing the distribution of agro pharmaceuticals on tree crops at variable intervals was created at the University of Florence. The semi-mounted machine is supported on a pair of wheels in operation.

Targeted distribution at variable intervals is achieved with the use of independent sprayer modules which allow the separation of automatic control of the volume, size of drops and the characteristics of the air vector, for intensity and direction, in the various productive bands of the crown. The machine consists of two steel structures supporting two series of sprayer modules with four sprayer devices on each side. The sprayer components located above and below and on all sides of the machine can rotate through a range from 0° to 30° to adapt to the direction of the spray which characterizes the target. The features of the tree crown are acquired by eight ultrasound sensors which detect the thickness of four different vertical bands, each associated with a single sprayer module according to rules set by a PLC (100% thickness of the foilage wall = 100% of the dose; 50% thickness of the foliage wall = 70% of the dose; 30% thickness of the foliage wall = 30% of the dose; absence of foliage = 0% of the dose). Two types of solutions are applied to control the amount of air: location devices and butterfly valves.

Variable interval distribution is performed with the use of a pair of nozzles allowing a 70% reduction of the amount of mix for a reduced volume of the crown.

Conclusions

The results reached with the RHEA Project were judged as truly impressive by the EU evaluation commission after a final demonstrations, which took place in Madrid on May 23, 2014, and are very promising. This means that they are concrete proposals for the application of smart technologies and precision agriculture for vegetation defense and can contribute to providing efficient instruments for farmers to the point that they can substantially reduce, by 75% or more, the use of agro pharmaceutical.

TAGRhea

THE MOST READ of the latest edition