Tele-operating System of Field Robot for Cultivation Management - Vision based Tele-operating System of Robotic Smart Farming for Fruit Harvesting and Cultivation Management

Abstract

Purposes:This study was to validate the Robotic Smart Work System that can provides better working conditions and high productivity in unstructured environments like bio-industry, based on a tele-operation system for fruit harvesting with low cost 3-D positioning system on the laboratory level. Methods: For the Robotic Smart Work System for fruit harvesting and cultivation management in agriculture, a vision based tele-operating system and 3-D position information are key elements. This study proposed Robotic Smart Farming, an agricultural version of Robotic Smart Work System, and validated a 3-D position information system with a low cost omni camera and a laser marker system in the lab environment in order to get a vision based tele-operating system and 3-D position information. Results: The tasks like harvesting of the fixed target and cultivation management were accomplished even if there was a short time delay (30 ms ~ 100 ms). Although automatic conveyor works requiring accurate timing and positioning yield high productivity, the tele-operation with user's intuition will be more efficient in unstructured environments which require target selection and judgment. Conclusions: This system increased work efficiency and stability by considering ancillary intelligence as well as user's experience and knowhow. In addition, senior and female workers will operate the system easily because it can reduce labor and minimized user fatigue. Keywords IntroductionThe Smart Work Center, which government has recently supported, enables flexible work environments by providing physical extension and mobility to office setting. However, this Smart Work is applied only into the office setting, not into the field work such as casting and welding or agricultural production which requires heavy physical labor. Recent Robotic Smart Work (Ryuh, 2011;Dragan and Srinivasa, 2012) allows the field worker to control a robot installed at the field with poor working condition from the office; however, little research has been conducted in the area of agricultural industry which has similar working condition.The Robotic Smart Work System provides better working environments and high productivity to the farmers. Farmers accomplish the task with hands and foot depending on input information through the five senses. For this reason, the work productivity decreases with mental and physical limits and fatigue. Technology for tele-operation, which extends working setting and enhances the working energy, allows farmers to control the robot installed at the field and to accomplish agricultural works from cultivation to harvesting watching a screen in pleasant indoor. Thus, this technology is expected to solve the problems in agriculture and to present new paradigm in the area of agricultural industry. The Robotic Smart Farming System, a type of the Robotic Smart Work system applied into bio-industry, consists of a tele-operating system including a master controller and a slave robot installed at the farm. Therefore, time delay caused by the dista...