Ag Robot Leads To Win For NW Students

A group of 10 Northwest bases students were recently honored for their contribution to the future of agriculture.  Washington State University graduate students as well as undergraduates at Toppenish-based Heritage University were recently honored for the autonomous fruit bin hauling robot they developed.  The team received the Excellence in Small Farms Technology Award, as well as a $5,000 cash prize, at the University of California's Farm Robotics Challenge.  The Challenge is an annual student competition coordinated by UC and the AI Institute for Next Generation Food Systems, with support from agriculture tech company farm-ng.

"I was happy with the creativity and hard work of the students, and confident they would stand out in the competition,” said Manoj Karkee, director of WSU’s Center for Precision and Automated Agriculture Systems and team co-advisor.  “The award was a great validation of their efforts.”

The challenge’s five winning teams were announced at the 2024 FIRA USA agricultural robotics conference in Woodland, CA. The contest marks the first time CPAAS has received such a prestigious award for a robotic invention.

"It was a joyful moment to see the team’s dedication recognized,” said Safal Kshetri, CPAAS post-doctoral researcher and team co-advisor.  “This challenge provided a valuable opportunity for the students to apply their theoretical knowledge to real-world challenges in impactful ways.  The award is well-deserved and reflects their commitment, creativity, and teamwork.”

Challenge participants designed robots to solve problems impacting the agriculture industry. After speaking with several Washington state growers about bin handling efficiency in tree fruit orchards, the WSU/Heritage University team, led by WSU PhD student Dawood Ahmed, began constructing a high-tech solution that could improve the process.

The group aimed to successfully automate the movement of empty and full fruit containers in and out of orchard rows. When performed manually, it’s a process that can be labor-intensive, costly, and result in damaged fruit.

The robot underwent three rounds of testing. First the students observed its navigational abilities indoors, then in a research vineyard near WSU’s Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center, where CPAAS is located. The final test took place in a nearby commercial orchard.  The team contended with a variety of obstacles. They had to replace faulty electrical circuits, find ways to stably mount heavy equipment, and design for field variability and factors like changing sunlight, which initially interfered with the robot’s bin detection abilities.

The group’s end goal is to continue perfecting the robot for grower adoption.

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