Design and Testing of a Wheeled Crop-Growth-Monitoring Robot Chassis

• DOI: 10.3390/agronomy13123043
• Publication Date: 2023-12-13T09:14:42Z
• Authors: Lili Yao; Huali Yuan; Yan Zhu; Xiaoping Jiang; Weixing Cao; Jun Ni
• Keywords: Chassis

The high-flux acquisition of crop growth information can be realized using field monitoring robotic platforms. However, most the existing agricultural robots have been converted from expensive commercial platforms, and they thus a hard time adapting to farmland working environment, let alone satisfying basic requirements sensor testing. To address these problems, wheeled crop-growth-monitoring robot that features accurate, nondestructive, efficient was developed based on cultivation characteristics wheat, obstacle wheat field, mechanism spectral sensors. By analyzing phenotypic structural change for row spacing different varieties throughout period, four-wheel mobile chassis designed with an adjustable wheel track high-clearance body structure effectively eliminate risk destroying during operation. Moreover, considering overcome obstacles in operations, three-dimensional (3D) model created Pro/E. Models (e.g., pits bumps) were Adams simulate operational stability robot. simulation results showed mass center displacement smaller than 0.2 cm flat pavement maximum 1.78 crossing (10 deep 10 high bumps). test equipped active-light-source sensors achieved stable, real-time, accurate canopy vegetation parameters—NDVI (normalized difference index) RVI (ratio index)—and parameters—LAI (leaf area index), LDW dry weight), LNA nitrogen accumulation), LNC content).