Design and Development of an Unmanned Orchard Spraying Robot with Two Degrees of Freedom

Automated and efficient spraying mechanisms are imperative to cope with the scarcity of human resources in agriculture, reduce the wastage of pesticides, and improve agricultural yield. In this paper, we present an indigenous solution for spraying of pesticides on different agricultural crops particularly fruit orchards in order to avoid the wastage of pesticide liquid and to prevent the health hazards of the pesticides faced by the agricultural workers utilizing a targeted robotic spraying technique. The implementation of this technique in agricultural procedures has shown a positive impact through the reduction of wastage, enhancement of food security, and optimization of resource utilization. The spraying robot consists of an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) and a robotic spraying manipulator with two degrees of freedom capable of moving in azimuth and elevation orientations. The spraying mechanism is mounted over the UGV which is capable of moving over all kinds of rough agricultural terrains. The operator is able to control the UGV and the spraying manipulator through a LabView-based computer terminal connected to a joystick via a wireless radio frequency (RF) link at a range of approximately six hundred meters. In case of long distances, the UGV is equipped with a night-vision camera to continue the spraying campaigns irrespective of the lighting conditions. The efficiency of the robot is tested in practical environments and has shown effective results without causing harm to the health of the operator.