Bonirob - an autonomous mobile platform for agricultural robotics

Agriculture and related tasks consist of successively executed and well-defined sub-processes. Thus, they appear as prime examples for applying autonomous / robotic technologies. Such an approach seems to be particularly appropriate for individual plant treatment requirements (e.g. for high value crop), analysis and scouting, and organic farming, and it has the potential to lead to zero-tillage agriculture in specific fields. Bosch, Amazone, and the University of Applied Science Osnabrück have developed the robotic platform BoniRob. It provides a high maneuverability and the generic functions to allow for an autonomous navigation. Furthermore, to increase the usability of BoniRob, a platform / App-concept is foreseen. An “App” is understood as a task specific combination of sensors, actuators, and a function which can easily be exchanged on the multi-purpose platform. The latter navigates on the field along the plant rows, carrying the working app. In this regard several prototypical apps already have been implemented, e.g. vision based weed control apps, soil penetrometer, and sensor systems for field-based scouting.