List of Agricultural Robotics Projects

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Introduction

This is a list of Agricultural Robotics Throughout this page, wherever it says ‘Robotics’ it can be read as ‘Robotics and High Level Automation’ Groups and Projects that I have been able to find in a quick spin around the www. It has been assembled from a grower/adopter perspective, but I hope that researchers/makers also find it useful.

The information has been collated into a table that allows basic filtering and shows brief descriptions of the groups/projects with links so you can click through if you are interested. Charts showing some basic stats are also on display.

Currently there are 22 groups and 50 projects in the list, the information is mostly scraped from the web resources of the groups/projects themselves. More on this in the Submitting Edits section.

David Bell (davidbell@hvp-robotics.com)

Jump to Group Charts/Stats
Jump to Project Charts/Stats
Jump to What’s In the List
Jump to Category Descriptions
Jump to Submitting Edits/Additions


Robotics Groups & Projects Table

This table presents minimal descriptions of the groups & projects with links and videos in the details, enough to decide if you are interested, then you can click through to sites as you please.

The table has basic filtering, search and outlining. Click [F] column names to filter; [S] for crude word search; [+]/[-] to expand/collapse row details.

Group [F] Entity Type
[F] Region
[S] Search
Project [F] Task Type
[F] Crop Type
[F] Readiness
[F] Last Active

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Group Charts

These charts are also affected by the filters set above.

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Project Charts

These charts are also affected by the filters set above.

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What’s in the list

Throughout this document wherever it says ‘Robotics’ it can be read as ‘Robotics and High Level Automation’. In my mind this means projects that go beyond reactive control such as

      Set -> Act
          or
      Set -> Sense -> React

      to the higher level mode of

      Set -> Sense -> Compute -> Act
          or
      Observe -> Think -> Act

So more Roomba than dishwashers & PID controllers, but there’s also an element of “I’ll know it when I see it”.

The project also needs have at least one well defined use case that is being deliberately pursued, rather than just a list of potential applications. As noted in the Introduction, this list is from a grower/adopter perspective, so I need to see a path from its current state to commercialisation.

UAVs, Satelites & Apps? Mostly Out… AIs & CNNs? Maybe In.

Aerial drones (UAVs) are generally not in the list. The main reason is that these have become a large category in their own right, and I feel if they were all listed they would just swamp the other robotics projects. Really they need a separate list … that’s if anyone can keep up with them. Also, to be honest, these UAV projects are all a little bit ‘samey’ to me … there seems to be a lot of UAV crop monitoring systems, each with a new multispectral camera, not many of them really ground-truthed. Ditto for satelites. Exceptions can be made if the project is novel enough, eg I have seen a UAV used for forestry seeding, but the bar will be set high.

Management Apps are also not in the list for similar reasons - too many, too samey, lack of ground-truthing. Obviously many of the robotics projects will have Apps associated with them for operation etc - this is fine, but App-only projects are generally not included.

AIs & CNNs may make it into the list as long as they are novel and/or are a component of a larger system with a specific use case. They will need a lot of ground-truthing to get above ‘Concept’ level of readiness though.

Video, or it didn’t happen

All projects in the list need to have a video demonstrating the described functionality. Rendered videos, if they are included at all, are automatically labelled Concept.

I think vapourware is a bit of a problem in robotics and it can have a negative influence well beyond the actual project in question. Fanciful claims can suck interest away from legitimate projects.

Thus the video rule.

Plus they are a neat way for people to see what projects are about.

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Category details

It can be difficult to find the balance between too few overly broad categories vs a whole lot of narrow categories with only one entry. At this stage I have tended towards a few broad categories but as the numbers get up in some I may split them in due course… and I’m open to suggestions.

Many of the categories are self-explanatory but others need a bit more detail as laid out in the following table.

Entity Options

  • Company, Startup, University, Govt R&D Organisation

Region Options

  • Asia/Pacific, Americas, Europe, Africa

Task Type Options

  • Establishing : Cultivation, establishing orchards etc.
  • Growing : Mowing, pruning & thinning etc. Also Nutrition & Irrigation
  • Protecting : Weed control, pest control.
  • Harvesting : Includes automated transport of harvest, and any post-harvest processes
  • Monitoring : Insect/disease/nutrition monitoring & measurements. Includes automated phenotyping.
  • Multi-Function : A robotic system that can either perform multiple tasks or serve as a base/platform for mutiple implements - eg a robotic tractor.
  • Component : Part of a robotic system. Could include things such as a robot arm manipulator for picking fruit; a navigation system; a software/analysis framework.
  • Other :

Crop Type Options

  • Broadacre : Large scale crops such as grains & cereals. Includes turf.
  • Row Crop : Crops such as vegetables & berries grown in rows.
  • Vine Crop : Vine crops grown on trellises.
  • Tree Crop : Orchard crops includes and forestry.
  • Livestock : Bovine, ovine, poultry, aquaculture (bees?).
  • Greenhouse : Protected cropping includes nurseries.
  • Multi-Crop : A robot designed for multiple crops, eg a weedkiller might work in row and broadacre crops.
  • Other :

Readiness Options

The Technology Readiness Levelss (TRLs) need a bit more explanation. There’s no shortage of TRLs out there, but I decided to do my own all the same.

Once again they are biased towards a grower/adopter point of view. Growers want to know roughly where the project is up to, and how long they are likely to have to wait until it is available; they are generally far more interested in the Demonstrator and Commercial end of the chain and have fairly strict standards as to what does and does not constitute useful work.

So without further ado here are the levels/options …

TRLs

  • Concept : Early stage of developement. Concepts, discovery & ideas. Virtual or benchtop prototypes of components and algorithms.

  • Prototype : A robotic system or component capable performing a nominated task in lab conditions. ‘Lab conditions’ includes field trials conducted with a high level of oversight and/or over a limited period and restricted areas. Optimistically three to five years from commercialisation.

  • Demonstrator : A robotic system that is capable of performing of useful work in nominated field conditions over prolonged periods with minimal developer oversight. Optimistically one to two years from commercialisation.

  • Commercial : Is commercially available now, either for sale, made to order, or as a service, etc. Financial models of intended use cases should be available.

Last Activity

This is just the last year I have found web publications concerning the project. Not a comment on whether or not it is active. The exception is for projects that have been identified as ‘Commercial’, in these cases it refers to the last year they were available for purchase or service.

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Submitting Edits

My HTML/JS skills are pretty rubbish.

If anyone would like to have a go at improving the table it would most appreciated.

The plan is to be able to make it switch between different views, such as arranged by Group, Task, Crop, a bit like an Excel pivot table.

Also would be make this a bit more mobile friendly like the rest of the site.

The information in this page is mostly copied from the web resources published by the groups/projects themselves; any commentary and assignment of categories is according to my opinion, based on these materials.

You can just email me if you have additions, corrections or suggestions.

In the case of additions, just email me your details and links to the project page and videos. If you want descriptions other than what I’ll find on the links, put that in the email as well. I will look at all the resources and make an entry. I also assign all the categories for consistency.

For edits, corrections & deletions, there is an ‘Email Correction’ link in all the detail sections of groups & projects. Please use this instead of writing direct because it will include a code so I know exactly which section you are referring to with the changes.

Groups can put in as many projects as they want as seperate entries, but as outlined above they must each have a video link demonstrating the functionality. Where a group has a ‘platform’ with multiple configuartions and use cases it is best to have one entry for the platform itself and then one for each implemented use case - once again each entry needs a video; potential use cases for a platform without videos will not make it as seperate entries in the list but you can mention them in the platform description.

Languages other than English

If English is not your first language I would still ask you to include an English translation if that is possible, or I can try google translate on it. You can also have repeat entries in one language other than English for your group and projects.

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