Abstract:
Autonomous mobile robots are being used in various fields to replace manual labor and increase efficiency. The world is witnessing an increasing application of autonomous devices in agriculture as well, but this technology is yet to make inroads in Pakistani farmlands. Pakistan lags behind the world in agricultural yields per unit area due to outdated farming methods. Along with other agricultural practices, weed control methods employed in Pakistani farmlands are not only inefficient and time consuming but also pose a threat to the environment. Autonomous robots are being used in farms around the world as they provide higher precision in weeding and greater time efficiency. Instead of using harmful herbicides, robots equipped with laser actuators are being adopted as a sustainable alternative. Unfortunately, the cost of these robots is beyond the purchasing power of Pakistani farmers. The only way to ensure penetration of this technology in Pakistani farmlands is to make it affordable. This project focuses on the fabrication of an autonomous laser weeding robot that can automate weeding procedure, replace harmful herbicides and boost yield per unit area. The focus of the project is to develop an affordable functioning robot that achieves the global benchmarks for the efficiency of weeding robots. The robot is manufactured using indigenous material and machining processes which helped greatly in reducing the cost of production.
