Design of a UGV Powered by Solar Energy for Precision Agriculture

In this paper, a novel UGV (unmanned ground vehicle) for precision agriculture, named “Agri.q,” is presented. The Agri.q has a multiple degrees of freedom positioning mechanism and it is equipped with a robotic arm and vision sensors, which allow to challenge irregular terrains and to perform precision field operations with perception. In particular, the integration of a 7 DOFs (degrees of freedom) manipulator and a mobile frame results in a reconfigurable workspace, which opens to samples collection and inspection in non-structured environments. Moreover, Agri.q mounts an orientable landing platform for drones which is made of solar panels, enabling multi-robot strategies and solar power storage, with a view to sustainable energy. In fact, the device will assume a central role in a more complex automated system for agriculture, that includes the use of UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) and UGV for coordinated field monitoring and servicing. The electronics of the device is also discussed, since Agri.q should be ready to send-receive data to move autonomously or to be remotely controlled by means of dedicated processing units and transmitter-receiver modules. This paper collects all these elements and shows the advances of the previous works, describing the design process of the mechatronic system and showing the realization phase, whose outcome is the physical prototype.

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Collaborative Pursuit-Evasion Strategy of UAV/UGV Heterogeneous System in Complex Three-Dimensional Polygonal Environment

Complexity ◽

10.1155/2020/7498740 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2020 ◽

pp. 1-13

Author(s):

Xiao Liang ◽

Honglun Wang ◽

Haitao Luo

Keyword(s):

Visual Field ◽

Heterogeneous System ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Unmanned Ground Vehicle ◽

Worst Case ◽

Ground Vehicle ◽

Pursuit Evasion ◽

Evasion Game ◽

Evasion Strategy ◽

Aerial Vehicle

The UAV/UGV heterogeneous system combines the air superiority of UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) and the ground superiority of UGV (unmanned ground vehicle). The system can complete a series of complex tasks and one of them is pursuit-evasion decision, so a collaborative strategy of UAV/UGV heterogeneous system is proposed to derive a pursuit-evasion game in complex three-dimensional (3D) polygonal environment, which is large enough but with boundary. Firstly, the system and task hypothesis are introduced. Then, an improved boundary value problem (BVP) is used to unify the terrain data of decision and path planning. Under the condition that the evader knows the position of collaborative pursuers at any time but pursuers just have a line-of-sight view, a worst case is analyzed and the strategy between the evader and pursuers is studied. According to the state of evader, the strategy of collaborative pursuers is discussed in three situations: evader is in the visual field of pursuers, evader just disappears from the visual field of pursuers, and the position of evader is completely unknown to pursuers. The simulation results show that the strategy does not guarantee that the pursuers will win the game in complex 3D polygonal environment, but it is optimal in the worst case.

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Editorial for the Special Issue “Estimation of Crop Phenotyping Traits using Unmanned Ground Vehicle and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Imagery”

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs12060940 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (6) ◽

pp. 940 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Xiuliang Jin ◽

Zhenhai Li ◽

Clement Atzberger

Keyword(s):

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ◽

Crop Production ◽

Unmanned Ground Vehicle ◽

Special Issue ◽

Climate Conditions ◽

Ground Vehicle ◽

Global Food Security ◽

3D Data ◽

Potential Applications ◽

Aerial Vehicle

High-throughput crop phenotyping is harnessing the potential of genomic resources for the genetic improvement of crop production under changing climate conditions. As global food security is not yet assured, crop phenotyping has received increased attention during the past decade. This spectral issue (SI) collects 30 papers reporting research on estimation of crop phenotyping traits using unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imagery. Such platforms were previously not widely available. The special issue includes papers presenting recent advances in the field, with 22 UAV-based papers and 12 UGV-based articles. The special issue covers 16 RGB sensor papers, 11 papers on multi-spectral imagery, and further 4 papers on hyperspectral and 3D data acquisition systems. A total of 13 plants’ phenotyping traits, including morphological, structural, and biochemical traits are covered. Twenty different data processing and machine learning methods are presented. In this way, the special issue provides a good overview regarding potential applications of the platforms and sensors, to timely provide crop phenotyping traits in a cost-efficient and objective manner. With the fast development of sensors technology and image processing algorithms, we expect that the estimation of crop phenotyping traits supporting crop breeding scientists will gain even more attention in the future.

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Universal Navigation Algorithm Planning Platform for Unmanned Systems

Solid State Phenomena ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/ssp.164.405 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 164 ◽

pp. 405-410 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Raivo Sell ◽

Priit Leomar

Keyword(s):

Route Planning ◽

Action Planning ◽

Robotic Systems ◽

Unmanned Ground Vehicle ◽

Ground Vehicle ◽

Navigation Algorithm ◽

Vehicle Systems ◽

Message Exchange ◽

Aerial Vehicle ◽

Platform Development

The paper deals with route planning and message exchange platform development for unmanned vehicle systems like Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). Existing solutions for both types of vehicles are discussed and analyzed. Based on existing solution an unified concept is introduced. In this paper we present the study where the universal navigation algorithm planning platform is developed aiming to provide common platform for different unmanned mobile robotic systems. The platform is independent from the application and the target software. The navigation and action planning activity is brought to the abstract layer and specific interfaces are used to produce the target oriented code, describing two different test platforms are presented and co-operation scenarios.

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Development of Volcano Observation System That Consists of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle and Tele-operated Unmanned Ground Vehicle

Journal of the Robotics Society of Japan ◽

10.7210/jrsj.34.220 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 34 (3) ◽

pp. 220-225 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Genki Yamauchi ◽

Ken Akiyama ◽

Keiji Nagatani

Keyword(s):

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ◽

Observation System ◽

Unmanned Ground Vehicle ◽

Ground Vehicle ◽

Aerial Vehicle

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The Multi-Gas Sensor for Remote UAV and UGV Missions—Development and Tests

Sensors ◽

10.3390/s21227608 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (22) ◽

pp. 7608

Author(s):

Miron Kaliszewski ◽

Maksymilian Włodarski ◽

Jarosław Młyńczak ◽

Bartłomiej Jankiewicz ◽

Lukas Auer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Measurement Data ◽

Fast Response ◽

Unmanned Ground Vehicle ◽

Long Distance ◽

Ground Vehicle ◽

Sensing Applications ◽

Gas Detector ◽

Aerial Vehicle ◽

Gas Measurements ◽

Gas Dilution

In this article, we present a versatile gas detector that can operate on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or unmanned ground vehicle (UGV). The device has six electrochemical modules, which can be selected to measure specific gases, according to the mission requirements. The gas intake is realized by a miniaturized vacuum pump, which provides immediate gas distribution to the sensors and improves a fast response. The measurement data are sent wirelessly to the operator’s computer, which continuously stores results and presents them in real time. The 2 m tubing allows measurements to be taken in places that are not directly accessible to the UGV or the UAV. While UAVs significantly enhanced the versatility of sensing applications, point gas detection is challenging due to the downwash effect and gas dilution produced by the rotors. In our work, we demonstrated the method of downwash effect reduction at aerial point gas measurements by applying a long-distance probe, which was kept between the UAV and the examined object. Moreover, we developed a safety connection protecting the UAV and sensor in case of accidental jamming of the tubing inside the examined cavity. The methods presented provide an effective gas metering strategy using UAVs.

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Robotic complex for inspection of the outer surface of the aircraft in its parking lot

INCAS BULLETIN ◽

10.13111/2066-8201.2020.12.s.2 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (S) ◽

pp. 21-31

Author(s):

Boris S. ALESHIN ◽

Alexander I. CHERNOMORSKY ◽

Eduard D. KURIS ◽

Konstantin S. LELKOV ◽

Maxim V. IVAKIN

Keyword(s):

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ◽

Outer Surface ◽

Unmanned Ground Vehicle ◽

Metal Fatigue ◽

Ground Vehicle ◽

Extreme Wind ◽

Parking Lot ◽

Wind Exposure ◽

Wind Actions ◽

Aerial Vehicle

Through-flight inspection of the outer surface of the aircraft is necessary to identify possible damage to the surface of the aircraft caused by metal fatigue, lightning, birds collision, etc. The article discusses the method of robotic inspection of the outer surface of the aircraft in its open air parking area. The robotic complex (RC) consists of an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) and an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) interconnected by a tether mechanism (TM). The algorithm of the RC functioning is presented. The main attention is paid to the formation of the TM control and the features of its work, ensuring the prevention of collisions of UAV with aircraft during extreme wind actions on UAV. The study of the most critical mode of the complex operation under extreme wind actions on an unmanned aerial vehicle is carried out. The results of modeling the typical process of the RC operation in an abnormal conditions of extreme wind exposure to UAV are presented.

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Biobjective UAV/UGV Collaborative Rendezvous Planning in Persistent Intelligent Task-Based Wireless Communication

Wireless Communications and Mobile Computing ◽

10.1155/2021/9578783 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2021 ◽

pp. 1-12

Author(s):

Qin Wang ◽

Hua Chen ◽

Junwei Tian ◽

Jia Wang ◽

Yu Su

Keyword(s):

Wireless Communication ◽

Path Length ◽

Optimization Problem ◽

Experimental Result ◽

Planning Problem ◽

Unmanned Ground Vehicle ◽

Cooperative System ◽

Ground Vehicle ◽

Aerial Vehicle ◽

The Mathematical Model

This paper addresses a multiobjective Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGVs) collaboration scheduling problem in which UAVs must be recharged periodically during a persistent task, such as wireless communication and making aerial panoramic VR video by UAV. The proposal is to introduce a UGV/UAV cooperative system in which UAVs should be recharged by UGVs periodically, and also, the UGVs have to visit their task points expect for the recharge points. The objective of the problem is to schedule and plan paths with the tradeoff of path length and makespan for UAVs and UGVs. The mathematical model which can be considered a combinatorial multiobjective optimization problem is presented firstly, and the solution of the problem is composed of presubsolution and postsubsolution. The multiobjective adaptive large neighborhood is hybrid with the Pareto local search (MOALP) to resolve the problem. The experimental result shows that the proposed algorithm outperforms the compared algorithms on the rendezvous planning problem for UAVs and UGVs working collaboratively in intelligent tasks.

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