Citation
(2013), "Web sites", Industrial Robot, Vol. 40 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/ir.2013.04940aaa.007
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2013, Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Web sites
Article Type: Web sites From: Industrial Robot: An International Journal, Volume 40, Issue 1
Farm Technology Group
The mission of the Farm Technology Group at Wageningen University in The Netherlands is “To enhance, exploit and disseminate the potential of technology in primary agricultural production processes to fulfill the needs of mankind and nature in a sustainable way”. This interdiscplinary group covers fields that include systems optimization, management and control of production processes, and robotics and precision agriculture techniques.
The Farm Technology Group’s well-organized web site features 15 research projects, including the development of a robotic system for sweet-pepper production and an autonomous weed control robot.
The rest of this concise site contains links on: education, publications, staff, and an impressive research network that delineates the group’s collaborations with industry and other research institutes and universities.
RoboBees
http://robobees.seas.harvard.edu/
Inspired by the biology of a bee and the insect’s hive behavior, the RoboBees’ web site at Harvard Engineering describes innovative research in autonomous, miniature robots.
The RoboBees homepage provides an excellent overview of the micro air vehicles project which is based on the design of compact high-energy power sources, smart sensors, and the coordination of large numbers of small, agile robots in the collective intelligence of a bee colony.
The homepage lists several practical applications that could develop from this nature-inspired research including: autonomously pollinating a field of crops; search and rescue (e.g. in the aftermath of a natural disaster), hazardous environment exploration, military surveillance, high resolution weather and climate mapping; and traffic monitoring.
RoboBee’s homepage also highlights: its vision and aims, videos, press, and a blog. Further details on research – which is comprised of the brain, body, and colony; publications; and people, are found under the Links.
Clever crops for Robots
CROPS is an FP7 EU project within the call of “Automation and robotics for sustainable crop and forestry management”. The primary objective of this large-scale integrating four-year project is “to develop scientific know-how for a highly configurable, modular and clever carrier platform that includes modular parallel manipulators and intelligent tools (sensors, algorithms, sprayers, grippers) that can be easily installed onto the carrier and are capable of adapting to new tasks and conditions”.
CROPS’ comprehensive web site covers a tremendous amount of project data including pages on its: 14 different project partners; 13 different workpackages; five different categories of dissemination; and news.
Harvest Automation
Harvest Automation is a startup material handling company in Boston, MA, USA, that brings robotic innovation to the world of manual labor, starting with agriculture.
Harvest’s creative and excellent web site presents tabs on the agricultural market which includes a cost justification of Harvest’s robots. It also lists a table on the benefits of Harvest’s products specifically for the ornamental horticulture sector, their initial market.
The rest of the tabs offer an introduction to Harvest Automation’s Technology, a combination of of behavior-based robotics, proprietary sensor technology, and system design and architecture; features and functions of its products; support, which defines its open source disclosure; and news and events.
Organizations and associations
Coordination of ICT and Robotics in Agriculture and Related Environmental Issues: http://db-ictagri.eu/ict-agri/content/home.php
IEEE Robotics and Automation’s Technical Committee on Agricultural Robotics: www.fieldrobot.com/ieeeras/