September 5, 2023 

Autonomy Demonstration: Rugged Ground Robot for Plot and Other High-Value Work

KENT CAVENDER-BARES

We have heard from multiple industry contacts that there is a need for a class of rugged ground robots that can be used for high-value work in crops like corn. This could as a platform for mounting custom sensors to collect phenotyping data on breeding plots. Alternatively, a platform like this could be used on larger fields for detecting and removing rogues early and removing missed tassels prior to pollination.

In this demonstration, we prepared a field with blocks of 20-ft long plots, each nominally four rows wide. The start and end of rows were surveyed using RTK-GPS; only the first and last row of the planter pass was surveyed. (In the future, we expect that the as-planted map captured by the planting tractor’s monitor would be used in place of a manual survey.)

Software was developed that combined several plots in series, indicating which row gap within the plots to travel and at what ground speed, which yields a “field map” for the robot to follow. Once loaded into robot’s computer, the operator simply clicked “go” and the robot carried out the full 6 minute run shown without any human intervention.

This approach is scalable to having the robot visit more plots on a given run, or to operate on larger fields as has been previously demonstrated by our team. Note that the 1500-lb, diesel powered vehicle shown would be scaled down, most likely to an all- or hybrid-electric machine for smaller plot work.