Low-Cost Design Proposal of a Modular Telescopic Autonomous Agricultural Robot

The application of autonomous robotics in food production is still in its infancy but bears significant potential, especially in the sector of precision farming. Here we present the results of a survey conducted during the years 2022–2023 with local farmers in Northern Germany to identify the challenges that are being faced by both conventional and organic farming practices due to climate change and increased food production regulations in the EU region. Additionally, a pilot study with a medium-sized (Demeter) farm is presented, identifying the real needs and problems organic farmers face during their food production chain from seeding, weeding, and maintaining the equipment till bringing in the harvest. The results indicate a strong demand for modular, autonomous, and digitized solutions to address key challenges in agricultural production. To address these challenges we propose a novel mechanical robotic platform design that has been developed in accordance with the Fab City principles of open and local production resulting in a low-cost open-source solution.