A Mobile Laboratory Robot for Various and Precise Measurements of Crops and Soil in Agricultural Fields: Development and Pilot Study

Localized management based on multipoint measurements of crops and soil is expected to improve agricultural productivity. The difficulties with this process are as follows: it is time-consuming due to the many measurement points; it requires various sensors for various measurements; it can lead to unstable measurements due to sunlight and wind. To solve the above issues, the system we propose has the advantages of efficient measurements performed by a robot, various measurements performed through exchangeable sensor units, and stable measurements through protecting the crop from sunlight and wind. As a pilot study for the system, we conducted an experiment to simultaneously measure the crops and soil in a cabbage field. The robot achieved mobility in the field, >4 h of operation time, and the ability to obtain soil electrical conductivity measurements and crop imaging at 100 points. Furthermore, the stability of the measurement conditions within the sensor unit during the experiment was evaluated. Compared to the case without the covering, the illuminance became 280-fold stabler (standard deviation = 0.4 lx), and the wind-induced crop shaking became 20-fold lower (root mean square error of the image pixels = 0.5%). The potential impacts of this research include high reproducibility because of the shareable sensor unit and the expectation of new discoveries using precise indoor sensors.

Automated summary

Localized management based on multipoint measurements of crops and soil is expected to improve agricultural productivity. However, the difficulties of this process include time-consuming multi-point measurements, the need for various sensors, and the unstable measurements caused by sunlight and wind. To address these issues, we have proposed a system that utilizes a robot for efficient measurements, interchangeable sensor units for various measurements, and protection from sunlight and wind to ensure stable measurements. The pilot study conducted in a cabbage field successfully demonstrated the mobility of the robot, a long operation time, and the ability to obtain both soil electrical conductivity measurements and crop imaging at multiple points. The experiment also showed improved stability in measurement conditions with the use of the sensor unit, benefiting from reduced illuminance fluctuation and minimized crop shaking caused by wind.