The agriculture industry is in crisis because of population increase, labor shortages, and rising costs of supplies. We developed a battery-powered robot prototype to improve corn production efficiency while limiting use of fossil fuels. The robot takes soil samples and selectively administers fertilizer. It communicates with and parks in a hub station that refills the fertilizer tank and uses a solar collector to recharge the battery. To traverse the uneven crop rows, a rover design was created with a rocker suspension and skid steering. A dashboard and data storage system was created to allow for easy visualization and storage of soil data. The robot's modular design permits swift component replacement while a base station offers solar charging, navigational aid, and elemental protection.

• This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

Creator

• Guan, Lin
• Pavlov, Ashley
• Piyajarawong, Thananart
• Wang, Tianshu
• Simpson, Philgen
• Crump, Noelle
• Frederick, Taylor
• Thompson, Travis
• Bozdo, Vasil

Publisher

• Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Identifier

• E-project-042723-085640
• 105766

Advisor

• Bertozzi, Nicholas
• Nemitz, Markus
• Beck, Joseph E.
• Bhatia, Mehul A.

Year

• 2023

Date created

• 2023-04-27

Resource type

• Major Qualifying Project

Major

• Mechanical Engineering
• Computer Science
• Electrical & Computer Engineering
• Robotics Engineering

Source

• E-project-042723-085640

Rights statement

• In Copyright

Last modified

• 2023-06-21