Evaluation of navigation system of a robot designed for greenhouse spraying

Abstract

This research aims on the development of one efficient and feasible robotic vehicle for spraying inside a greenhouse and evaluation of its navigation system. The proposed system makes its movements by the left and right side motors, and the guidance was provided by ultrasonic sensors. A proportional control mechanism was implemented for continuous and real-time operations of the robotic unit. Such a system uses the ‘range information’ collected by sensors, so the unit can complete its movement between aisles. A u-shaped path with width and length of 0.98 m and 13.93 m, respectively, was selected for validation experiments. The greenhouse has a concrete floor; the unit was moved in three different speeds (7, 14, 21 m min−1). In general, the feasibility of the proposed robotic unit was approved, since it moved successfully in every required path. The RMSE of robotic unit movements’ accuracy was placed between 5.22 and 6.38 at different speeds.