Design and development of unmanned chemical spraying rover for agriculture application

Abstract

There is an increase in usage of Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) in the field of agriculture, specifically for the purpose of spraying fertilizers and pesticides. However despite existing technologies, no such platform has been created so far which aims to provide rover chemical spraying that can be used in a high risk areas at a low cost for extended periods of time. The principal objective of the present work is to Design and Develop a Unmanned Chemical Spraying Rover, to be able to overcome any kind of obstacle on the agricultural field, and a simple yet indigenous low cost mechanism for precise spraying agricultural enhancers such as fertilizers, pesticides, and insecticides. These primary objectives must be realized in a platform costing lower than similar alternatives in the market. The user can achieve controllable motion and variable flow of the enhancer by a suitable tethered, ground based remote control interface. Objective of the present work also aims to develop a multi-purpose rover machine, which can be used in tortuous terrain, crops and plantations of diverged heights. The Rover is maneuvered with the help of six geared motors each attached to one wheel. The rover’s movement will be controlled using Bluetooth remote control, where the transmitter will be a smart phone.