Spraying in agriculture represents a societal challenge due to its negative impact in human and animal health and in environment. Increasing spraying efficiency towards the objective of "right time, right amount, right place", involves reduction of losses and, consequently, amount of phytopharmaceuticals used, water usage, and human and animal exposure to pesticides, and the increase of the spraying system availability while reducing labour costs. Furthermore, adoption of new ecological spraying treatments to increase both yield and treatment efficiency is desirable. Agriculture in rough terrain is also challenging, due to the steepness of some terrain, lack of space to manoeuvre, difficulties of communications due to natural obstacles and harsh atmospheric conditions associated. To cope with these challenges a consortium with complementary precision farming actors was formed for SCORPION project, bringing together steep slope vineyards associations (CERVIM, INNOVI), robotics and agricultural machinery RTD institutions (INESC, EUT, and CNR-IMAMOTER, WUR), SMEs and large company (TEYME, KommTek Intelligente Lösungen, Deimos), and an institution devoted to innovation in the sector (IPN). SCORPION's solution will be a safe and autonomous precision spraying tool integrated into a modular unmanned tractor (robotics platform). It will focus on steep slope vineyards but with impact in other high-value permanent crops (olive groves and fruiticulture). SCORPION' will consider Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver (considering Galileo triple frequency (E1, E5 and E6) including the full E5 AltBOC signal, Open Service - Navigation Message Authentication (OS-NMA) and High Accuracy Service (HAS)) fused with other sensors, to increase the solution reliability, accuracy and safeness, and to enable autonomous ultraviolet light treatments (to eliminate partial need of phytopharmaceuticals) and to allow high precision spraying in permanent crops. SCORPION will bring the TRL of the technologies involved from 5 to 7. This increment is driven by five main RTD topics: localization and navigation systems (considering GNSS); advanced sprayer tool with Variable Rate Technology (VRT); safety systems; compliance and interoperability; and modularity. SCORPION will contribute to build up its market segment aligned to the European Strategic Robotics Agenda and create new business opportunities, and reduce the fertiliser usage in agriculture and increase air quality. SCORPION brings to the market a cost effective modular robot for high precision spraying in permanent crops, integrating three main modules: an autonomous tractor (<50hp), high precision sprayer with novel UV light treatments, and advanced outdoor sensing system. These modules can be commercialized independently or in the form of SCORPION robot.
SCORPION - Cost effective robots for smart precision spraying
Danilo Rabino;Maria Valent;
2020
Abstract
Spraying in agriculture represents a societal challenge due to its negative impact in human and animal health and in environment. Increasing spraying efficiency towards the objective of "right time, right amount, right place", involves reduction of losses and, consequently, amount of phytopharmaceuticals used, water usage, and human and animal exposure to pesticides, and the increase of the spraying system availability while reducing labour costs. Furthermore, adoption of new ecological spraying treatments to increase both yield and treatment efficiency is desirable. Agriculture in rough terrain is also challenging, due to the steepness of some terrain, lack of space to manoeuvre, difficulties of communications due to natural obstacles and harsh atmospheric conditions associated. To cope with these challenges a consortium with complementary precision farming actors was formed for SCORPION project, bringing together steep slope vineyards associations (CERVIM, INNOVI), robotics and agricultural machinery RTD institutions (INESC, EUT, and CNR-IMAMOTER, WUR), SMEs and large company (TEYME, KommTek Intelligente Lösungen, Deimos), and an institution devoted to innovation in the sector (IPN). SCORPION's solution will be a safe and autonomous precision spraying tool integrated into a modular unmanned tractor (robotics platform). It will focus on steep slope vineyards but with impact in other high-value permanent crops (olive groves and fruiticulture). SCORPION' will consider Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver (considering Galileo triple frequency (E1, E5 and E6) including the full E5 AltBOC signal, Open Service - Navigation Message Authentication (OS-NMA) and High Accuracy Service (HAS)) fused with other sensors, to increase the solution reliability, accuracy and safeness, and to enable autonomous ultraviolet light treatments (to eliminate partial need of phytopharmaceuticals) and to allow high precision spraying in permanent crops. SCORPION will bring the TRL of the technologies involved from 5 to 7. This increment is driven by five main RTD topics: localization and navigation systems (considering GNSS); advanced sprayer tool with Variable Rate Technology (VRT); safety systems; compliance and interoperability; and modularity. SCORPION will contribute to build up its market segment aligned to the European Strategic Robotics Agenda and create new business opportunities, and reduce the fertiliser usage in agriculture and increase air quality. SCORPION brings to the market a cost effective modular robot for high precision spraying in permanent crops, integrating three main modules: an autonomous tractor (<50hp), high precision sprayer with novel UV light treatments, and advanced outdoor sensing system. These modules can be commercialized independently or in the form of SCORPION robot.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
