Wireless robust robots for application in hostile agricultural environment

-Robots for use in agriculture have been proposed for a number of operations, ranging from static applications under controlled environment to more challenging uses such as in field operations. Nonetheless the robots used in such applications are strictly industrial equipment which are not designed for hostile outdoor operations. As result, several problems often occur, such as system malfunction due to broken wires, difficulties in system placement and movement, poor adaptation and frequent maintenance. This paper proposes a new wireless robust robot architecture, where all wires and cables in the robot joints are eliminated and a distributed control system is designed to allow the independent remote operation of the robot links. The functional independence of each link allows easy re-configuration of the robot to a specific application and increases the operation robustness of the system. The system proposed in this paper could be applied in most manipulator type robots due to its independence of operation, or application and low power consumption, making the new robot system better adapted to field application and robust for the hostile environment. IMACS/IEEE CSCC'99 Proceedings, Pages:4511-4515 Key-Words: Robot System, Wireless Transmission, Distributed Control, Field Application, Robustness