Students on the Master’s degree program in Computer Science – Intelligent Systems have successfully completed their two-semester Master’s project. Their aim was to design, build and successfully commission a Farmbot. The outdoor area of the Westphalian University of Applied Sciences in Bocholt offered ideal conditions for the Farmbot, a robot with advanced sensors and actuators in the field of smart farming.
The students were faced with diverse and demanding challenges, which they mastered with a skillful approach. They analyzed and rectified manufacturer errors in the bot and carried out extensive optimization measures, which led to significant improvements in the products.
The Farmbot was now ready to fulfill its purpose: pest analysis. Equipped with developed processes, it continuously scans the field and reliably identifies pest areas, which enables targeted control and helps to keep the plants healthy.
The future of the project promises great potential. The Farmbot’s actuator technology is to be further developed to effectively remove pests, and there is the possibility of opening up further areas of precision farming, e.g., the detection and targeted irrigation of dry plants.
Thanks to the fully open-source approach, the project is open to further innovations. New use cases and the integration of additional actuators and sensors can be easily realized in order to increase they continuously improve the efficiency and versatility of the Farmbot and steer agriculture towards a sustainable future.