Autonomous Control of Agricultural Sprayers

This project aims to enable autonomous control of agricultural sprayers. This feasibility study will consider a precise and robust control system for optimising the height of the spraying booms and the spraying vehicle’s speed based on the laser-based sensing principle. The proposed system will address the shortcomings of the current, reactive ultrasonic-based systems which provide instant and unreliable distance information only, resulting in a suboptimal spraying process. This new technology will enable greater autonomy in agricultural sprayers, enhance and simplify interaction between the driver and the vehicle, and result in an optimised spraying process, bringing numerous benefits arising from more efficient use of chemicals (e.g. economical benefits to farmers, help in maintaining biodiversity, reduction of contamination risks and emission of greenhouse gases, improved safety of the operator and food consumers).