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| Insect Hunter Orchard Robot Bitmap Analysis Edge Detection |
 Features of the Insect Hunter Prototype Farm Robot. |
| The Insect Hunter
is designed for stepping over short (2-3+ feet) plants and targets slow
moving pests only.Feet
can vary
their
surface area and change shape to knock off
accumulated soil. Feet
can also take moisture readings for better water management. Hexapod
form for stability and minimal CPU require- ments for control Single
arm with camera at end of it, small manipulator and vacuum tube. Single
arm is suspended from a rotary base to optimize positioning. Solar
panel for additional power and battery re-charging. All
cameras are low power CMOS cameras for their color sensitivity and durability. |
Why NOT Wheels? Wheels would restrict the robot to traveling down rows, while the hexapod form shown above has no permanent forwards or backwards. So, if it were to see a few insects that were visible it could move over a row to take care of them and then return back to where it's path was diverted. Wheels would also compact the soil and require more surface area to travel along while the hexapod form could step between plants. Some form of a wheeled robot might work better under some conditions such as in orchards. Another problem with wheels is with mud accumulating on them. Suitable prey
for the Insect
Hunter are the following:Foliage Eating Insects and Sap Suckers such as: - Aphids - Leaf Rollers - Green Fruitworm - Leaf Hoppers - Web Worms - Cankerworms - Colorado Potato Beetle, |
A couple of different versions of the Odex robot.
