The article presents a control system for a robotic platform for horticulture. The electronic control system consists of a running engine control unit, a stepper motor steering unit, an electronic differential control unit, a power plant automatic on / off control unit, and battery charging balancing. The developed control system of the robotic vehicle contains a central computer that collects information from sensors and sensors, processes it and transmits control signals to the drives of the machine movement. The movement of the robotic platform is carried out both by a radio signal with a remote control, and in offline mode on a pre-set map of the area according to data from the GLONASS/GPS differential receiver of the satellite navigation system. It is also possible to independently control the movement of a robotic platform using a vision system. The autonomy of the robotic platform provides 10 hours of continuous operation in low-light conditions in various weather conditions.

The most common and cost-effective berry crop in the Russian Federation is strawberry garden. A feature of the cultivation of this crop is the increased labor costs, which reach up to 2000 people·h/ha, a large share of which is accounted for by manual harvesting operations. In this connection, the creation and use of an electric drive platform for the cultivation and harvesting of strawberries on an industrial plantation will significantly reduce labor costs, increase productivity and reduce the degree of labor fatigue in gardening. As a result of the conducted research, data on the effectiveness of the use of an electric drive platform for the operation of harvesting strawberries in the conditions of an industrial plantation of “ Sovhoz imeni Lenina”, so the productivity of harvesting strawberries increased by an average of 34.2%. The quality of the technological process of harvesting berries for the entire period of use of the platform was at the level of the usual manual harvesting. The completeness of the harvesting ranged from 95.8% in heavily thickened rows with a large number of weeds, to 99.5% in areas with good agricultural techniques for maintaining plantings and it is economically feasible to use an electric platform with a yield of more than 30 c / ha.

No abstract

No abstract

Two types of ridging cultivators for growing potatoes and other vegetables were designed and tested. The first machine GPK-2 has active working tools – rotary drum with straight cutters, passive sweeps on rigid tines, and plates forming ridges. The second machine GD-2 has only passive drought working tools: spring S-shaped tines with sweeps of two forms, disks, and plates forming ridges. Field tests were carried out to determine soil preparation quality and energy consumption indicators of both machines on loamy soils typical for the non-chernozem zone of the Russian Federation. It is advisable to use the indicator of the specific power consumption related to the average diameter of loosened soil clods. Measured specific power per average clod diameter was in range 3.3…4.3 kW×mm−1 for the active rotary ridging cultivator, and 2.6…3.2 kW×mm−1 for the cultivator with passive working tools. The required power for the machine with passive working tools at the maximum possible forward speed is 25…35% lowers than for a rotary machine. Though cutting ridges on the post-planting treatment of loamy soil, rotary tiller supplies better soil crumbling. On inter-row cultivation of light loamy soils, the machine with passive working tools is a preferable solution due to less energy consumption relative to the machine with an active rotary drive.