Agricultural Robotics Innovation Earns Top Honors

A team from the Vietnam Academy of Agriculture has triumphed in the “Innovative Agricultural Startup” competition with their robot project. This initiative was led by Nguyen Thanh Nghi, a fourth-year Mechanical and Electrical Engineering student, along with six peers.

With a focus on agriculture, Nghi and his team explored various traditional and high-tech farming methods across different regions. They were driven by the aim of developing automated solutions for agricultural tasks.

The project began in their second year, during which they observed the benefits of greenhouse farming, such as optimal bed arrangement, effective drainage, controlled weather conditions, and advanced agricultural techniques.

Nghi gained insights into modern agricultural practices through seminars where he noted innovations from other countries, including machines for pesticide spraying, harvesting robots, and insect monitoring systems.

However, he found that existing pesticide sprayers had limitations, like fixed spraying angles and speeds. This realization sparked his ambition to create a more efficient product integrated with AI technology.

Through extensive experimentation, the team developed a pesticide spraying robot comprising five key components: a controller, power source, AI camera system, pump unit, and mobility system.

The robot features advanced navigation technologies, including digital compass and GPS, enabling it to operate autonomously in greenhouses. It can rotate 360 degrees and has a sophisticated spraying system that adjusts flow, speed, and pressure as needed.

Utilizing smart AI image analysis, the robot identifies infected crop areas and modifies the spraying parameters accordingly.

Testing at the Institute of Biotechnology demonstrated the robot’s effectiveness, allowing it to spray at a speed of 100 meters per minute across three beds simultaneously, effectively covering over a hectare with its pesticide capacity.

Regarding its market production costs, Nghi indicated that the final price would range between VND20 million and VND29 million.