FieldRobot 2011 - Cornivore
Robot Cornivore took part in Field Robot Event 2011 in Herning, Denmark from June 30 to July 2. It won the overall competition (placed 1st in Basic and Freestyle tasks and 2nd in Weed-it task). The precision fertilization trailer and related docking station presented in the freestyle task received high regards for their autonomous joint operation, winning the task by a large margin.
Team members
The team consists of eleven students and three instructors. Seven students are from Aalto University studying Automation and Systems Technology (AS) or Mechanical Engineering (MEK). Four students are from University of Helsinki (UH), studying Agrotechnology (AGTEK).
| Students AS | Students MEK | Student AGTEK | Academic Instructors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joonas Ryynänen (C) | Tapio Lantela | Matti Aspila | Timo Oksanen |
| Perttu Heikkilä | Zakaria Mönkäre | Vesa Luukkonen | Jari Kostamo |
| Ville Matikainen | Markus Storsjö | Tapio Vesterinen | Petro Tamminen |
| Mikko Vihlman | Tero Välilä |
Robot tech
Specs:
- 4x compact axle modules (two for robot, one for trailer, one spare part)
- DC drives with LiPo batteries
- Advanced suspension system
- Aluminium chassis, mostly laser cut sheet metal parts
- 2 onboard computers (1x eBox running WinCE + 1x FitPC running WinXP)
- 15 ATmega microcontrollers onboard (plenty of RS-232/RS-485 connections between them)
- SICK LMS100 laser scanner
- SRF04 + GP2D12 ranging sensors in each corner
- Microsoft webcam on top of mast
- Compass & attitude sensors
- Software tools: Matlab, Visual Studio, LabVIEW, CodeVisionAVR, SolidEdge
- HMI user interface on the robot + remote interface
- Nice cover design
- Weight about 20kg
Cornivore at Helsinki in wheat field tests
Final report
Freestyle
For freestyle task of the competition the team designed a fertilizer spreader trailer attached to the robot. The trailer uses ultrasonic range sensors to detect adjacent maize plants and delivers granular fertilizer next to the plants. When the trailer runs out of fertilizer or battery, the robot-trailer system reverses to a docking station which refills the fertilizer tanks and changes the battery. In normal operation on a maize field the robot controls the trailer, but when the system reverses to the docking station the trailer controls the robot, thereby demonstrating modern agricultural machinery operation.
Cornivore is driving between rows with its smart trailer
Trailer is reversing to the docking station
Freestyle in action
Team Cornivore Sponsors
Building of the robot and participation to the competition in Demark was possible thanks to our sponsors: Yara Finland, Henry Fordin säätiö, Laserle, Junkkari, Koneviesti, VTI Technologies, HP Infotech, Maatalouskoneiden tutkimussäätiö; and Aalto University and University of Helsinki
Full resolution photos for media
Photo 1 Cornivore in maize field
Photo 2 Cornivore with a trailer
Photo 3 Cornivore in Docking station
Photo 4 Team Photo (in front: Tero Välilä, Vesa Luukkonen, Joonas Ryynänen, Markus Storsjö; rear: Timo Oksanen, Petro Tamminen, Matti Aspila, Tapio Vesterinen, Ville Matikainen, Tapio Lantela and Jari Kostamo; missing from photo: Mikko Vihlman, Perttu Heikkilä and Zakaria Mönkäre)
Photo 5 Basic Task (a jury member making notes on the left, Markus Storsjö running behind the robot on the right)
