Design and Analysis of a Novel Modular Agricultural Robot with Its Redundant Cooperative Control Strategy

doi:10.3901/JME.2024.23.088

Abstract

Abstract: A multi-scene agricultural robot is proposed based on modularity theory, which can be applied to agricultural greenhouses, outdoor scenes, etc. By carrying different modular agricultural equipment, it realizes the tasks of monitoring, pollination, drug spraying and picking of multiple crops, realizing the autonomous operation of the farm and reducing the labor cost. The agricultural robot adopts suspension shock absorption system, independent steering drive structure and dual terrain track wheel design, which can adapt to various scenes such as indoor flat land, track and outdoor farmland, and realize multiple motion modes and work scenes of autonomous switching. For the high-precision chassis robotic arm cooperative motion control, the research establishes the corresponding kinematic and dynamics models, and analyzes its control accuracy according to the prototype parameters. For the work that requires traversing the target task points, a novel redundant cooperative control strategy is proposed. The experimental results show that all parameters of the agricultural robot prototype meet the working requirements; the efficiency of the redundant cooperative control strategy can be improved by up to 30% compared with the traditional intermittent one, and the errors in dynamics are verified numerically. The effects of the prototype parameters, traversal efficiency, and control accuracy are quantified from mathematical modeling and simulation perspectives, providing guidance for further improvement and optimization. The experimental results support the design and practical application of robots in agricultural scenarios, providing efficient and precise solutions for agricultural production.

Key words: modular agricultural robot, multi-purpose robotic arm, autonomous switching of multiple scenes, redundant cooperative control

CLC Number:

TG156

PAN Yuzhen, WEI Jiawei, KHAN Rezwan Al Islam, CHEN Xiong, WANG Hongbo, SHANG Huiliang. Design and Analysis of a Novel Modular Agricultural Robot with Its Redundant Cooperative Control Strategy[J]. Journal of Mechanical Engineering, 2024, 60(23): 88-101.

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