Operational, Economic, and Environmental Assessment of an Agricultural Robot in Seeding and Weeding Operations

TY - JOUR

T1 - Operational, Economic, and Environmental Assessment of an Agricultural Robot in Seeding and Weeding Operations

AU - Vahdanjoo, Mahdi

AU - Gislum, René

AU - Grøn Sørensen, Claus

PY - 2023/3

Y1 - 2023/3

N2 - The development of robotic‐based agricultural machinery systems has significantly increased in recent years. Many autonomous systems have not yet been measured based on sustainability and economic performances, even though automation is regarded as an opportunity to increase safety, dependability, productivity, and efficiency. The operational aspect, economic viability, and environmental impact of replacing conventional machinery with robotized alternatives are the primary focus of this study. The robot considered in this research is designed for extensive field‐work, where PTO and external hydraulics are required. This robot is equipped with two 75 (hp)Kubota diesel engines with a total engine gross power of up to 144 (hp). Both robotic system andconventional machinery were described, and different scenarios were used to examine various operational and environmental indicators, as well as individual cost elements, considering various field sizes and working widths of implements used in seeding and weeding operations. The findings demonstrate that the robotic system outperforms conventional machinery in terms of operationalefficiency by as much as 9%. However, the effective field capacity comparison reveals that the conventional system has a field capacity that is up to 3.6 times greater than that of the robotic system.Additionally, the total cost per hour of the robotic system is up to 57% lower than that of the conventional system. The robotic system can save up to 63.3% of fuel during operation, resulting in the same percentage reduction in CO2 emissions as the conventional system, according to a comparison of fuel consumption.

AB - The development of robotic‐based agricultural machinery systems has significantly increased in recent years. Many autonomous systems have not yet been measured based on sustainability and economic performances, even though automation is regarded as an opportunity to increase safety, dependability, productivity, and efficiency. The operational aspect, economic viability, and environmental impact of replacing conventional machinery with robotized alternatives are the primary focus of this study. The robot considered in this research is designed for extensive field‐work, where PTO and external hydraulics are required. This robot is equipped with two 75 (hp)Kubota diesel engines with a total engine gross power of up to 144 (hp). Both robotic system andconventional machinery were described, and different scenarios were used to examine various operational and environmental indicators, as well as individual cost elements, considering various field sizes and working widths of implements used in seeding and weeding operations. The findings demonstrate that the robotic system outperforms conventional machinery in terms of operationalefficiency by as much as 9%. However, the effective field capacity comparison reveals that the conventional system has a field capacity that is up to 3.6 times greater than that of the robotic system.Additionally, the total cost per hour of the robotic system is up to 57% lower than that of the conventional system. The robotic system can save up to 63.3% of fuel during operation, resulting in the same percentage reduction in CO2 emissions as the conventional system, according to a comparison of fuel consumption.

KW - Economic assessment

KW - Environmental impact

KW - Operational management

KW - Precision Agriculture

KW - Sustainability

KW - robotic systems

U2 - 10.3390/agriengineering5010020

DO - 10.3390/agriengineering5010020

M3 - Journal article

SN - 2624-7402

VL - 5

SP - 299

EP - 324

JO - AgriEngineering

JF - AgriEngineering

IS - 1

M1 - 5

ER -