USDA Grant to Fund Robotic Precision Pesticide Sprayer Development

By Jeff Mulhollem

Pesticides reduce crop loss, helping to stabilize production, but excessive use of pesticides has brought huge negative impacts to the environment and human health, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. To address the problem, a team of Penn State researchers is developing a robotic precision pesticide sprayer capable of targeted application while minimizing unintended exposure.

The research, funded by a $300,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), will focus on applying pesticides in small-fruit crops production such as grapes and berries. The robotic sprayer will be based on an unmanned ground robot, which can autonomously drive in a field with pre-set maps and spray based on canopy density.

The sprayer will be evaluated with a series of field trials for pesticides application in a vineyard and a raspberry field, according to team leader Long He, associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering in the College of Agricultural Sciences. He noted that the robotic system’s chemical usage and working efficiency will be compared to a conventional sprayer, but

the robotic sprayer is expected to significantly reduce chemical usage for small fruit growers and minimize the human involvement during spray operations.

“The primary goal of the project is to develop and demonstrate a robotic spraying system for pest management in grape and berry fields to save pesticides and reduce chemical drift,” He said. “Over the long term, the project is expected to provide an advanced plant-protection tool for sustainable production and communities.”

The technology behind the system is complex, He explained. The planned unmanned ground robot-based sprayer will integrate a commercial ground robot, a sprayer controlling system and a canopy measurement sensing system. A light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensor, a remote sensing method that uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure variable distances on Earth’s surface, will be mounted on the robot to measure the canopy density of diverse crops. The researchers will also develop a control system to automatically adjust the spray rate depending on air speed and the spray angle of the sprayer.

The team will extensively test the system, He noted, adding that the bulk of the research will be conducted out of Penn State’s Fruit Research and Extension Center at Biglerville, in south-central Pennsylvania.

“With the integrated robotic spraying system, two field trials will be conducted for two consecutive seasons — one for a wine grape field and the other one for a red raspberry field,” He said. “In a long term, the precision and robotic spraying technologies developed in this project will enhance the sustainability of the small fruits industry in the U.S.”

The results from this project will be disseminated to the grower communities through various activities by Penn State Extension, such as articles, workshops and field demonstrations, according to He.