Occupational Safety in the Operation of Agro-Robots in Crop Production

This paper provides an analysis of the current state of occupational safety in the operation of unmanned mobile autonomous platforms. It demonstrates that, to date, no specific occupational safety measures have been developed in Ukraine for working with such platforms. The paper also outlines key occupational safety requirements for the operation of unmanned mobile autonomous platforms. The article asserts that agricultural robots are expected to be implemented in Ukraine in the future. An analysis of occupational safety issues has revealed that, even within the European Union, no standardized regulations for the safe operation of agricultural robots currently exist. It has been established that Ukraine also lacks legislative initiatives to regulate the use of agricultural robots in production settings. A review of the existing literature shows that while some publications address the challenges associated with the safe operation of agricultural robots, no proposals or recommendations have been developed or implemented. Using the example of the OMNiPower agricultural robot, the paper demonstrates one of five hazardous incidents where the machine deviated from its planned trajectory due to the loss of a GPS signal. The authors propose measures to regulate the operation of agricultural robots in the event of GPS signal loss. Based on their research, they identify the key criteria necessary for developing guidelines and regulations for the safe operation of agricultural robots in Ukraine. The paper concludes with a summary of these findings. The implementation of agro-robots is currently hindered by the absence of standardized regulations and a unified legal framework. It is expected that the European Union will not develop the relevant standards before 2027. The paper highlights that safety initiatives presented in scientific and popular articles have not been formalized into legislation, and there are no clearly defined criteria for assessing the safe operation of agro-robots. It is demonstrated that the operation of agro-robots involves direct hazards, such as unintended deviations from the planned trajectory. The following criteria are proposed to justify occupational safety requirements: a safe operational distance of the agro-robot from residential areas, mandatory operation within the coverage area of an RTK station, and the use of optical and wave-based detection systems for identifying foreign objects in the robot's path.