Multi-Agent Based Prototyping of Agriculture Robots

In this paper, we propose a multi-agents system for the simulation of prototypes for different agriculture robots that can be employed in the harvesting of a vineyard. We show that this prototyping method works well and is appropriate for a system involving several robots. We present the behaviors of each robot, their interactions and some scenarios for the testing of the system. Of specific interest is the cooperative behavior of the robots in such a task. Preliminary results indicate that some optimal choices toward the development of the harvesting system can be correctly identified based on these simulations. The choices can then be used when designing and building the system prototype.

[1]  Paolo Dario,et al.  A force/torque sensor-based technique for robot harvesting of fruits and vegetables , 1990, EEE International Workshop on Intelligent Robots and Systems, Towards a New Frontier of Applications.

[2]  F. E. Sistler,et al.  Robotics and intelligent machines in agriculture , 1987, IEEE J. Robotics Autom..

[3]  N. Kondo,et al.  Agricultural robot in grape production system , 1995, Proceedings of 1995 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[4]  Chen Yimin,et al.  A robot simulation, monitoring and control system based on network and Java3D , 2002, Proceedings of the 4th World Congress on Intelligent Control and Automation (Cat. No.02EX527).

[5]  Yael Edan,et al.  Robotic melon harvesting , 2000, IEEE Trans. Robotics Autom..

[6]  K. Vollmann.  Realistic robot simulation: multiple instantiating of robot controller software , 2002, 2002 IEEE International Conference on Industrial Technology, 2002. IEEE ICIT '02..

[7]  Jose L Pons,et al.  Design and implementation of an aided fruit‐harvesting robot (Agribot) , 1998 .

[8]  Yoav Sarig,et al.  Robotics of Fruit Harvesting: A State-of-the-art Review , 1993 .

[9]  Min Cheol Lee,et al.  Obstacle avoidance for mobile robots using artificial potential field approach with simulated annealing , 2001, ISIE 2001. 2001 IEEE International Symposium on Industrial Electronics Proceedings (Cat. No.01TH8570).

[10]  C. E. Schertz,et al.  Basic Considerations in Mechanizing Citrus Harvest , 1968 .

[11]  Mitsuji Monta,et al.  End-Effectors for Tomato Harvesting Robot , 1998, Artificial Intelligence Review.

[12]  José Luis Pons Rovira,et al.  Automatic fruit recognition: a survey and new results using Range/Attenuation images , 1999, Pattern Recognit..

[13]  Mo Jamshidi,et al.  Assessment Study on Sensors and Automation in the Industries of the Future. Reports on Industrial Controls, Information Processing, Automation, and Robotics , 2004 .

[14]  F Sevila,et al.  The principles of robotics in agriculture and horticulture , 1991 .

[15]  Hannes Bleuler,et al.  A simulation environment for robot motion planning , 2005, Proceedings of the Fifth International Workshop on Robot Motion and Control, 2005. RoMoCo '05..

[16]  M. Recce,et al.  Vision and neural control for an orange harvesting robot , 1996, Proceedings of International Workshop on Neural Networks for Identification, Control, Robotics and Signal/Image Processing.

[17]  J. Bontsema,et al.  An Autonomous Robot for Harvesting Cucumbers in Greenhouses , 2002, Auton. Robots.