Application of Mechatronics in Agriculture
A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Agricultural Technology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 May 2024) | Viewed by 5867
Special Issue Editors
Interests: machine learning applications; machine vision; image processing; mechatronics; control; autonomous systems; MEMS
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
2. PIC4SeR Centre Coordinator, 10141 Torino, Italy
Interests: autonomous vehicles; drones; embedded systems; precision agriculture; search and rescue; service robotics; simultaneous localization and mapping; smart cities
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Various UN statistical projects envisage that the population of the world will probably reach 9.7 billion by 2050, and about 70% of the population will live in cities. This is a prevalent trend in many developed and developing countries; workforce shortages already exist concerning the increase in agricultural production to meet these demands. The energy costs and environmental concerns of agricultural production have become prominent factors due to alarming levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and increasing fossil fuel costs. All these concerns require extensive use of precision agriculture and automation to increase yield. Robots and autonomous machines can address these pressing issues and assist farmers in resolving the labor shortage and the need for increased crop yield. The applications of mechatronic systems and autonomous machines have permeated many domains of agriculture, such as driver assistance systems for harvesting, variable rate technology (VRT)-based fertilizers, sprayers, etc. Autonomously operating machines help meet labor shortages and enhance agricultural productivity, the sustainability of economic development, and the growth of farms.
Due to their accuracy and energy efficiency, autonomously operating unmanned machines can significantly increase quality and quantity in agricultural production. Moreover, they can help curtail GHG emissions and the negative effects of fertilizers by using enhanced VRT-based fertilizer application and watering systems. Another mainstream research paradigm is the application of cloud-based data sharing and Edge AI for data processing.
Several potentially challenging issues exist in developing and implementing autonomously driven unmanned vehicles, including varying terrain conditions, soil and visibility changes due to weather conditions, and significantly varying farm fields. Sensing the surrounding environment and controlling systems in the face of these uncertainties pose significant challenges to using autonomously driven vehicles.
The scientific/engineering challenges mentioned above concerning developing and applying mechatronic systems and robots in autonomously driven unmanned machines for agriculture are anticipated to be the topics of research and review papers in this Special Issue. This Special Issue aims to discover, elaborate, and share the different scientific studies and development methodologies addressing challenges in employing autonomously operating machines and systems applying mechatronic system development principles to enhance agricultural production. We invite all researchers to submit their findings in the study of mechatronics in agriculture.
Dr. Sulaymon Eshkabilov
Dr. Marcello Chiaberge
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- mechatronics in agriculture
- robotics
- automation
- sensors
- Wi-Fi communication
- remote sensing
- autonomous control
- machine vision
- novel robotic platforms
- artificial intelligence
- traction systems for agriculture
- emission reduction
- energy optimization
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.
