On April 17, 2020, the National Center for Research and Development announced the results of the December recruitment of the Fast Path competition. Łukasiewicz Research Network – Institute of Aviation with partners: Unia Sp. z o.o. and the Łukasiewicz Research Network – Industrial Institute of Agricultural Machinery obtained funding in the amount of PLN 12 million for the implementation of the project entitled “An intelligent robot that meets the requirements of precision farming.”
The originator of the project is Łukasiewicz – Industrial Institute of Agricultural Machines, responsible for the design of the field robot structure with working modules and the integration of selected subsystems. A manufacturer of agricultural machinery, the company UNIA Sp. z o.o. from Grudziadz, is responsible for the construction of the sowing module, construction of test stands and construction of the field robot and its implementation on the domestic and foreign market.
The works will be carried out for over 3 years, and Łukasiewicz – Institute of Aviation will be responsible for key tasks in the field of robotics, modern mechatronics and remote sensing. The project will include, among others, Complete Field Robot Sensing and Crop Database. The data obtained by the robot will be analyzed and used to increase the efficiency of agricultural production.
– The planned activities are related to the development of the Internet of Things. Obtaining financing confirms the high market demand for modern solutions using information gained by using a variety of sensors. They constitute a competitive advantage of agricultural machinery. It is also worth noting that our design work fits perfectly into the global goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in particular in meeting the requirements of zero hunger(second goal) and good health and quality of life (third goal). A modern agricultural robot will work to a large extent automatically and based on current data it will provide a variable dose of fertilizers and plant protection products. This will allow to increase production efficiency, minimize potential losses and reduce harmful effects of humans on the environment resulting from the use of significant amounts of artificial fertilizers – says Mariusz Kacprzak, MSc., head of the Remote Sensing Department in Łukasiewicz – Institute of Aviation.
The intelligent robot project will be the third project financed from external funds (National Center for Research and Development and European Commission) under which multispectral cameras and advanced data analysis will be developed at Łukasiewicz – Institute of Aviation.
