Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66502, USA.
Department of Entomology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66502, USA.
Sensors (Basel). 2022 Aug 18;22(16):6203. doi: 10.3390/s22166203.
Pest infestation causes significant crop damage during crop production, which reduces the crop yield in terms of quality and quantity. Accurate, precise, and timely information on pest infestation is a crucial aspect of integrated pest management practices. The current manual scouting methods are time-consuming and laborious, particularly for large fields. Therefore, a fleet of scouting vehicles is proposed to monitor and collect crop information at the sub-canopy level. These vehicles would traverse large fields and collect real-time information on pest type, concentration, and infestation level. In addition to this, the developed vehicle platform would assist in collecting information on soil moisture, nutrient deficiency, and disease severity during crop growth stages. This study established a proof-of-concept of a crop scouting vehicle that can navigate through the row crops. A reconfigurable ground vehicle (RGV) was designed and fabricated. The developed prototype was tested in the laboratory and an actual field environment. Moreover, the concept of corn row detection was established by utilizing an array of low-cost ultrasonic sensors. The RGV was successful in navigating through the corn field. The RGV's reconfigurable characteristic provides the ability to move anywhere in the field without damaging the crops. This research shows the promise of using reconfigurable robots for row crop navigation for crop scouting and monitoring which could be modular and scalable, and can be mass-produced in quick time. A fleet of these RGVs would empower the farmers to make meaningful and timely decisions for their cropping system.
虫害在作物生产过程中会造成严重的作物损害，从而降低作物的质量和数量。准确、精确和及时的虫害信息是综合虫害管理实践的关键方面。目前的手动巡查方法既耗时又费力，尤其是对于大面积田地而言。因此，提出了一队巡查车辆来监测和收集亚冠层级别的作物信息。这些车辆将在大片田地中穿行，实时收集虫害类型、密度和侵害程度的信息。除此之外，开发的车辆平台还将协助收集作物生长阶段的土壤湿度、营养缺乏和疾病严重程度的信息。本研究建立了一个能够在行间穿行的作物巡查车辆的概念验证。设计并制造了一种可重构地面车辆（RGV）。开发的原型在实验室和实际田间环境中进行了测试。此外，通过使用一系列低成本超声波传感器，建立了玉米行检测的概念。RGV 成功地在玉米田中行驶。RGV 的可重构特性使其能够在不损坏作物的情况下在田间的任何地方移动。这项研究表明，使用可重构机器人进行行间导航来进行作物巡查和监测具有很大的潜力，这种机器人可以是模块化和可扩展的，并且可以快速批量生产。一队这样的 RGV 将使农民能够及时做出有意义的种植系统决策。
