Smart Machines, Remote Sensing, Precision Farming, Processes, Mechatronic, Materials and Policies for Safety and Health Aspects

Abstract

The purpose of this Special Issue is to publish high-quality research papers, as well as review articles, addressing recent advances on systems, processes, and materials for work safety, health, and environment. Original, high-quality contributions that have not yet been published, or that are not currently under review by other journals or peer-reviewed conferences, have been sought. The main topics have been the protection system aimed to agricultural health and safety especially applied to mechanization sector (harvester, chippers), often involved in accidents at work, in the context of Directive 2006/42/EC, and to other families of risk as the chemical one and issues pertinent to safety. Methodologies for gradual and sustainable safety improvements on farms have been investigated in the vision of preliminary applications. Furthermore, the application of technologies aimed to the improvement and facilitation of operations in the agriculture sector as monitoring, precision farming, internet of things, application of evolved networks and machines of new conception.

The Effects of Individual Variables, Farming System Characteristics and Perceived Barriers on Actual Use of Smart Farming Technologies: Evidence from the Piedmont Region, Northwestern Italy

“…These technologies, together with synthetic biology, neurotechnologies, nanomaterials, advance energy and storage technologies are expected to disrupt and greatly affect economies and societies over the next future (10-15 years) unfolding their effects on the entire agricultural value chain [2,4,5]. Smart Farming Technologies (SFTs) are recognized to have a real potential to deliver several advantages to agriculture: a more productive, profitable and sustainable agricultural production, based on a more precise and resource-efficient approach able to reduce the ecological footprint of this sector, safer and better quality products and enhanced consumers' products acceptance through traceability and new direct forms of interaction among farmers, traders, processors, retailers and consumers [6], and safer and healthier working conditions for the agricultural workforce [7]. This is a fundamental issue if we consider that it is expected that the world population will further expand from the current 6 billion to 9-11 billion people in 2050 and this population will need to be fed within the limits of planet Earth's carrying capacity [8].…”

Safety Vision of Agricultural Tractors: An Engineering Perspective Based on Recent Studies (2009–2019)

“…Given the great attention paid to these topics by researchers and practitioners of different disciplines, the goal of this study was to investigate the trends and challenges regarding tractor safety issues discussed in the literature from 2009 through to September 2019. Inspired by need to provide a thorough perspective of agricultural machinery safety, which has been demonstrated by several recent initiatives [41,42], this study aimed to provide a systematic analysis of engineering research on tractor safety. Hence, in line with the definition of systematic literature review provided by Moher et al [43], the present study attempted to shed light on relevant evidence to answer the following research question: Which features and trends characterized the engineering research works on tractors' safety in the 2009-2019 period?…”

Desertification Risk and Rural Development in Southern Europe: Permanent Assessment and Implications for Sustainable Land Management and Mitigation Policies

“…For instance, the application of heavy machinery on clay soils and the use of plowing result in soil compaction. This process of soil degradation prevented water infiltration in deeper layers which leads to the stagnation of water in the surface layer [23][24][25].…”