Autonomous Aerial Robotic System for Smart Spraying Tasks: Potentials and Limitations

Abstract

Continuous demands for growth in agricultural productivity and modern demands for the sustainable agricultural approach are bringing farmers into a new technological era. With all the limitations and risks, precision agriculture and other related technologies show great potential in solving the challenges of sustainable and more efficient agricultural production. Nowadays, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are able to perform a wide range of agricultural tasks, from data collection to smart spraying. This chapter presents the concept of a modular autonomous robotic system that, based on available technologies, materials, and system components, can be produced and applied in precision agriculture. The primary purpose of such a system, which consists of a multirotor UAV and docking station, is to save the time required to perform the task and to reduce environmental and soil pollution. Several problems have been addressed, which affect performance and energy consumption, for example, of spraying a field crop.