The device consists of a mobile rover platform with a robotic arm which carries a soil sensing instrument. It is based on technology developed by STFC’s RAL Space and will be used in a project being run by a team at the University of Strathclyde.
The Strathclyde researchers, working with partners in the UK and China, will demonstrate in trials, the feasibility of the device’s agricultural operation by using an integrated, force feedback-controlled robotic system on the ground during the project.
STFC’s RAL Space team has not only designed and built the robot platform for technology demonstration but it will also design and build the ‘Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS)’ instrument for soil quality characterisation. In addition the team will provide equipment and logistics support for the field trial in China that will demonstrate the technology.
“With this novel instrument design we are tackling multiple challenges at once,” said Aron Kisdi, a space systems engineer for RAL Space. “First we have to miniaturise an instrument that is normally the size of a large wardrobe to fit on a small mobile robot so the measurements can be completed on-the-go. Second we are looking for nitrogen based fertiliser that can take multiple forms and is hard to measure accurately.”
Strathclyde’s Professor Xiu Yan, principal investigator in the research, said: “By harnessing space technology for a new application in farming, and engaging in this research collaboration with China, this project will deliver many benefits around the world.”