Zhang Zhenghua, He Weilong, Wu Fan, Quesada Lina, Xiang Lirong
Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States.
N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States.
Front Robot AI. 2024 Sep 18;11:1426269. doi: 10.3389/frobt.2024.1426269. eCollection 2024.
High agility, maneuverability, and payload capacity, combined with small footprints, make legged robots well-suited for precision agriculture applications. In this study, we introduce a novel bionic hexapod robot designed for agricultural applications to address the limitations of traditional wheeled and aerial robots. The robot features a terrain-adaptive gait and adjustable clearance to ensure stability and robustness over various terrains and obstacles. Equipped with a high-precision Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), the robot is able to monitor its attitude in real time to maintain balance. To enhance obstacle detection and self-navigation capabilities, we have designed an advanced version of the robot equipped with an optional advanced sensing system. This advanced version includes LiDAR, stereo cameras, and distance sensors to enable obstacle detection and self-navigation capabilities. We have tested the standard version of the robot under different ground conditions, including hard concrete floors, rugged grass, slopes, and uneven field with obstacles. The robot maintains good stability with pitch angle fluctuations ranging from -11.5° to 8.6° in all conditions and can walk on slopes with gradients up to 17°. These trials demonstrated the robot's adaptability to complex field environments and validated its ability to maintain stability and efficiency. In addition, the terrain-adaptive algorithm is more energy efficient than traditional obstacle avoidance algorithms, reducing energy consumption by 14.4% for each obstacle crossed. Combined with its flexible and lightweight design, our robot shows significant potential in improving agricultural practices by increasing efficiency, lowering labor costs, and enhancing sustainability. In our future work, we will further develop the robot's energy efficiency, durability in various environmental conditions, and compatibility with different crops and farming methods.
高敏捷性、机动性和 payload 能力，再加上小占地面积，使有腿机器人非常适合精准农业应用。在本研究中，我们介绍了一种专为农业应用设计的新型仿生六足机器人，以解决传统轮式和空中机器人的局限性。该机器人具有地形自适应步态和可调节间隙，以确保在各种地形和障碍物上的稳定性和坚固性。配备高精度惯性测量单元（IMU），该机器人能够实时监测其姿态以保持平衡。为了增强障碍物检测和自主导航能力，我们设计了一个配备可选先进传感系统的机器人升级版。这个升级版包括激光雷达、立体相机和距离传感器，以实现障碍物检测和自主导航能力。我们在不同地面条件下测试了该机器人的标准版本，包括坚硬的混凝土地板、崎岖的草地、斜坡和有障碍物的不平坦田地。在所有条件下，机器人的俯仰角波动范围为 -11.5° 至 8.6°，保持良好的稳定性，并且能够在坡度高达 17° 的斜坡上行走。这些试验证明了机器人对复杂田间环境的适应性，并验证了其保持稳定性和效率的能力。此外，地形自适应算法比传统的避障算法更节能，每次越过一个障碍物可降低 14.4% 的能耗。结合其灵活轻便的设计，我们的机器人在提高农业生产效率、降低劳动力成本和增强可持续性方面具有显著潜力。在我们未来的工作中，我们将进一步提高机器人的能源效率、在各种环境条件下的耐用性以及与不同作物和耕作方法的兼容性。
