AgroSenseBot: a low-cost multifunctional robotic platform for complex agricultural tasks

The increasing use of robots in agriculture necessitates versatile machinery capable of performing multiple tasks across diverse environments, including open fields, vineyards, orchards, and greenhouses. This paper presents a robotic system designed to address these needs with adjustable track width (0.88 to 2.5 m) and ground clearance (0.2 to 0.5 m) to optimize mobility. To minimize soil compaction and enhance traction, the platform features rubber tracks. The robot operates autonomously using a CAN-BUS control system, allowing both manual operation via an industrial remote control and autonomous operation through an on-board computer. This computer is equipped with a 24-core processor, 32 GB RAM, and an NVIDIA mobile GPU with 16 GB graphics memory, enabling the use of AI algorithms for task planning and data processing, and the use of multiple sensors, such as multi-plane LiDARs, GNSS dual antenna compassing, and RTK. This enables safe and autonomous navigation for Variable Rate Technology spraying of phytosanitary treatments in vineyards and, in the future, will be used to validate different methods to accomplish additional agricultural tasks autonomously.