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Off-road Equipment
Engineering Group
Intelligent Machinery for Biosystems Applications
The application of Machinery in Agriculture has had a tremendous
effect on providing an abundance of affordable food and fiber
to consumers. Where near the beginning of the twentieth century
one farmer fed eight people, at the end he fed over a hundred.
Although crucial for the development of economic farm practices, the machinery
used has traditionally been unrefined, rugged and relatively low-tech. This
has changed with the advent of Precision Agriculture, which aims to optimize
the processes of farming.Variable Rate Applicators now apply fertilizer on a prescribed basis. Tractors, and aerial fertilizer applicators are guided using GPS technology. Combines are fitted with yield monitors, moisture sensors, radar ground speed units, and auto-steering. Research is carried out to detect weeds and apply minute amounts of highly concentrated chemicals. Energy is saved by fitting tillage tools with acoustic sensors that allow tilling as deep as needed. The environmental impact of farming is reduced by minimizing the inputs of fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides. Safety is improved by fitting machines with ultrasonic distance sensors to prevent run-overs. The next step might be to develop autonomous machinery that performs operations 24 hours per day, while cooperating as part of an optimized system of machines. Although the automated farm may sound futuristic, there is no doubt that machinery will become more and more intelligent. It needs to have local computing power to make decisions, to communicate internally with sensors and controls and to be internetworked with other machines. Dr. Tony Grift is working in this exciting area and some of his work can be found here: |
| Biosystems Automation |
| Advanced Machinery for Biosystems Applications |
| Safety on Off-Road Machinery |