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16 Jun 2004
Unit:
Wageningen-UR
Number:
051
Twenty field robots, made by students of European and American universities,will battle each other in a maize field in Wageningen, the Netherlands. Duringthe contest the robots have to navigate through the rows of plants withoutintervention from the students. Of course people from the chair group FarmTechnology of Wageningen University, who organizes the contest, have putup obstacles in the course to test the skill of the robots.
The competitors in the contest designed and built their own robot. The fieldrobot has to navigate and steer autonomously. Teams of professionals andof students who join the battle come from the Netherlands, Germany, Poland,Hungary, Ireland and the United States. Four of the teams are from Wageningen,two student teams and two teams from research institutes.
After a click on the stopwatch the first robot starts. The field robots startlike in a time trial, one by one, and should complete the course throughthe maize field as fast as possible. It’s not just making it througha straight row of plants without making a lot of damage. The robot has toturn on the available space at the end of the row and enter the next. Afterthe straight rows follows the next challenge: meandering, curvy rows. Butthat is not all. During the last trial the robot has to toil through soilthat has been turned into mud with lots of water. The robots can also winpoints during a free-style session. Potato plants are put between the maizeby the Field Robot Event committee. The high tech sensors of the robot haveto recognize the different plant and to take care that the robot doesn’tget confused.
The expert jury doesn’t just measure the time but also scores the efficiencyof the course corrections an the ratio of cost and quality. The day beforethe contest the teams come together during a robot-fair with workshops toshow off to the competition and intimidate each other with technical details.The presentation on this day also counts in the final score for the contest.The contest on Friday June 18 starts at 12.00 o’clock at the Technotron,Bornsesteeg 59, Wageningen. The public can watch the contest and get informationabout all the robots.
Wageningen University wants to stimulate the development of field robotsthrough the Field Robot Events. Field robots are developed at several locationsin Europe for application in precision agriculture. In this type of agriculturea higher yield is obtained by taking care of individual plants. Automationand robotisation can make agriculture more profitable. Field robots can alsomake a contribution to organic farming by reducing the need for crop protectionchemicals.
NOOT VOOR DE REDACTIE
Further information can be obtained from mrs. Ellen de Jong (Coordinator),tel. +31 317 483321 or e-mail info@fieldrobot.nl orfrom Jac Niessen, science press officer, Wageningen UR, tel. +31 317 485003,e-mail jac.niessen@wur.nl.See also http://www.fieldrobot.nl for descriptions of the field robots.
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