Design and development of the architecture of an agricultural mobile robot

Parameters such as tolerance, scale and agility utilized in data sampling for using in Precision Agriculture required an expressive number of researches and development of techniques and instruments for automation. It is highlighted the employment of methodologies in remote sensing used in coupled to a Geographic Information System (GIS), adapted or developed for agricultural use. Aiming this, the application of Agricultural Mobile Robots is a strong tendency, mainly in the European Union, the USA and Japan. In Brazil, researches are necessary for the development of robotics platforms, serving as a basis for semi-autonomous and autonomous navigation systems. The aim of this work is to describe the project of an experimental platform for data acquisition in field for the study of the spatial variability and development of agricultural robotics technologies to operate in agricultural environments. The proposal is based on a systematization of scientific work to choose the design parameters utilized for the construction of the model. The kinematic study of the mechanical structure was made by the virtual prototyping process, based on modeling and simulating of the tension applied in frame, using the.

Potential of twenty exotic germplasms to improve Brazilian maize architecture

Temperate and temperate x tropical germplasms were introduced into the maize breeding of the Department of Genetics (ESALQ-USP). Twenty populations designated as P-1 to P-20 and a check population were evaluated in a randomized complete block design with two replications at Piracicaba, SP, Brazil. Plots were 2.0 m long, spaced 1.0 m apart, with 10 plants per plot after thinning. The following traits were evaluated: PH, plant height; EH, ear height; TB, tassel branch number; KW, 100 kernels weight; EL, ear length; ED, ear diameter; KR, kernels per row, and RN, number of rows of kernels. The means of the exotic populations showed a variation in performance for all traits. The population means were greater than check means for KW, EL, and KR. Populations P-9, P-10, P-12, and P-13 showed low relative ear placement values (EH/PH index), indicating that these materials could contribute to lower ear placement in local populations. P-1 and P-9 showed a high potential to reduce TB. The phenotypic correlation coefficients among populations were positive for most combinations, except for RN with PH, EH, TB, and KW. Predictions of 19 composite means were obtained for all traits.