Design and Fabrication of an Autonomous Weeder for Agricultural Fields
摘要
The escalating global warming and shifting temperatures necessitate the implementation of advanced technologies in agriculture to increase farmland productivity. Agricultural systems worldwide depend on seasonal rainfall and other environmental factors contributing to food production. However, crop production requires careful management of intercultural operations such as weed management, spraying, fertilizer application, and monitoring at the preharvest stages. Weed management is one of the most laborious and challenging tasks in both drylands and wetlands. Furthermore, applying herbicides has become problematic due to environmental concerns and limited resources. Therefore, this study aimed to design and fabricate an autonomous weeder to improve productivity while ensuring sustainability in the agriculture sector. A 12-m path was used to evaluate deviation values from the straight direction. The average deviation values on one side were measured as 25 cm, while on the opposite side were 22 cm, respectively. The field experiment was performed on the grassland at the Tsukuba Plant Innovation Research Center (TPIRC). The weeder was driven on two sides with three replications on each side, totaling six times. The deviation values on one side were measured as 3.4 m, while on the opposite side, they were 3.5 m, respectively. The grasslands had slippage, and the weeder constantly deviated from the marked track. Subsequently, experiments were conducted to turn left and right. The turning was conducted at 40° with a 5-degree deviation from the designed trajectory for turning. The weeding components were designed with fabricated models: first for the dry land using an L-shaped blade for drylands, wetland rotating blades with an I-shape powered by a DC motor using a Raspberry PI controller.