Development of an Autonomous Mobile Robot Platform for Smart Farms

Abstract

In this study, we present a novel mobile robot platform designed to navigate effortlessly in narrow and cramped spaces, reminiscent of the challenging conditions encountered in smart farms. The primary objective of this proposal is to address the inherent limitations of traditional mobile platforms when maneuvering in environments densely populated with crops and obstacles. To achieve this, path-tracking control was installed in the newly designed robot to evaluate its performance. We propose an adaptive fuzzy proportional derivative (PD) controller for the developed robot to perform path tracking. We compared the performances of both controllers with different parameters and the proposed fuzzy PD controller applied to the robot platform. The effectiveness of the developed robot was experimentally assessed. The experimental results indicate that the proposed robot platform has significant potential for application in greenhouses.