Progress 10/01/08 to 09/30/13
Outputs
Target Audience: College students were targeted in formal classroom settings, high school students were targeted during departmental visits such as the Illini Summer Academy,Research Apprentice Program II (minority program), and EYO (Explore Your Options) program as well as ExplorACES (College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences) and College of Engineering Open House. PI Tony Grift has also organized the ASABE Robotic Student Design Competition from 2007 to date. Farmers were informed at ACES Agronomy Day, and at invited presentations at meetings. International audiences were reached during various invited presentations from Brazil, Japan, The Netherlands, Italy, Germany, and Australia. Colleagues from academics were targeted in various presentations, ranging from workshops to international annual meetings, journal publications, and the ASABE Resource Magazine (in particular the Farm of the Future issue, January 2011). Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? We have provided several workshops for bioenergy personnel at UC Berkeley (as part of the Energy Biosciences Institute). We have also provided opportunities for five visiting scientists from the China Scholarship Council. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? The results have been disseminated through various journals, book chapters, symposia, International Meetings, and through visits to colleagues in Australia and Brazil. We have also participated in workshops, Agronomy Day, ExplorACES (open house), and Engineering Open House. Various interviews were given to journals. PI Tony Grift has organized the production of the Farm of the Future issue of ASABE Resource Magazine for which he received a Presidential Citation in 2011. PI Tony Grift also organized the ASABE Robotic Student Design Competition from 2007 through 2013. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The Hatch supported research titled “Advanced Machinery for Biosystems Applications” during the period 01/01/09 – 12/31/2013 has led to 20 refereed publications (one with EurAgEng outstanding paper award in 2010), 13 conference papers, three ASABE Resource Magazine articles, one ASABE special issue titled “Farm of the Future” yielding a presidential citation (2011), and graduate student completions (2 PhD, 4 MSc). We have developed a complete machine for mechanical weeding in the row in corn. We graduated one MS student (Craig Cordill) on this project. The machine design and performance has been published, where we were the first to supply additional information to a journal article (Biosystems Engineering). In the robotics area, we have developed new crop-based guidance mechanisms for our agricultural robot (visiting scientist Jinlin Xue). In addition, we have graduated one MS student (Fu OuYang) on a project regarding “Thinning of Fruit Trees”. We have slowly but surely raised significant interest in the application of robotics in agriculture. Currently there are various funding mechanisms in place NSF/NRI and NIFA/USDA that fund robotics research in agriculture. The main impact of our work has been an overall acceptance of the idea of robotic actors in agriculture. In the area of bioenergy, we assessed the possibility of compressing biomass into pellets, with the aim of fully utilizing weight and volume limits of transportation equipment. In the process, we have compressed biomass to a level never seen before using a 13 MegaNewton compressor. We were the first to report spontaneous biomass self-combustion owing to friction during compression. We have set a realistic limit on compressibility, debunking the premise often heard at conferences that there is virtually no limit. We have shown that there are technical limitations (an “in mold” pressure of 750 MPa is hard to achieve) and economic limits in the machinery required. We have also discovered the energy bottleneck in biomass preprocessing. We defined the measure for energy use in biomass preprocessing being the Percentage of Inherent Heating Value (PIHV) that expresses the energy use of a certain operation relative to the energy content in the material being processed. We have determined that harvesting (a key operation) of biomass costs 0.05 PIHV. Compression (an optional operation to optimize storage, transportation and handling) also cost 0.05 PIHV. However the key operation of size reduction cost approximately 5 PIHV. These results have set the stage for research, since size reduction is the obvious bottleneck. We have developed several novel techniques to measure the yield of energy crops based on machine vision, and Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR). We graduated PhD student Lei Zhang on this project. We have also developed methods to measure the energy consumption of high-speed cutting mechanisms. We have conducted various experiments from lab-scale to farm scale to measure the energy requirement for comminution and compression of biomass (post-doc Zewei Miao). Currently, we are measuring electrical capacitance of biomass to attempt identification of three phases of compression to better understand underlying mechanisms (visiting scholar Yuesheng Tan). We have also developed and tested a novel method to determine the stalk diameters of corn plants in real time as a proxy for per-plant-yield. We graduated one MS student on this project (William Roy). In addition, we have developed several methods for yield measurement in energy crops (post-doc Sunil Mathanker, MS student Phil Johnson). We have published two book chapters on transportation issues in bioenergy. We have demonstrated a principle of using a slanted laser sheet to count Miscanthus stems in a field. It also formed the basis for our corn stalk diameter sensing method. Currently John Deere is assessing the method to be used on timber harvesting equipment. The method has several advantages over traditional stereo imaging, and the hope is that it will be used for various other problems in agriculture. As a continuation of earlier granular mass flow measurement research, PI Tony Grift published two papers together with UCLA statistician Kate Crespi, which left to a EurAgEng Outstanding Paper Award in 2008 (1 out of 100 papers). In addition, an article outlining the struggle of engineers working with statisticians was published in ASABE Resource Magazine titled: Embracing Variability: How To Hug A Cactus. The method of granular mass flow measurements has had significant interest from companies such as CNH (to measure flows of granules in central hopper seeders) and Deere (as a possible second-generation grain yield monitor). Currently the PI is developing a demonstration unit in an attempt to commercialize the method. We have developed new methodologies to measure corn root parameters such as complexity, root angle and stem diameter. We have graduated one PhD student on this project (Joana Novais). We have developed a novel imaging machine (Corn Root Imaging Box, CRIB) that allows for imaging 600 roots per day. We have also investigated a novel approach to determine a 3D root structure, we graduated one MS student on this project (Robert Reis). We have expanded the High-throughput phenotyping method to corn ears as well (visiting scholar Yu Zhang, to be published). Our 2008 paper “High-Throughput Phenotyping Technology for Maize Roots” has raised significant interest from academia to seed companies. We are currently putting a standardization mechanism in place to allow objective comparison among plant features.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2009
Citation:
Kweon, G., T.E. Grift, D. Miclet, T. Virin and E. Piron. Analysis and Control of Uniformity by the Feed Gate Adaptation of a Granular Spreader. Journal of Biosystems Engineering 34(2), 95-105.
Zhong, D., J. Novais, T.E. Grift, M. Bohn and J. Han. Maize Root Complexity Analysis using a Support Vector Machine Method. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 69, 46-50. doi:10.1016/j.compag.2009.06.013.
Ehsani, M.R., T.E. Grift, J.M. Maja and D. Zhong. Two Fruit Counting Techniques for Citrus Mechanical Harvesting Machinery. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 65, 186-191, doi: 10.1016/j.compag.2008.09.002
Osborne, J.A., and T.E. Grift, 2009. M-estimation of Boolean models for particle flow experiments. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series C 58(2):197-210.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2011
Citation:
Cordill, C. and T.E. Grift, Design and Testing of an Intra-row Mechanical Weeding Machine for Corn. Biosystems Engineering 110, 247-252, doi:10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2011.07.007.
Bac, W., T.E. Grift and G. Menezes. Development of a Tabletop Guidance System for Educational Robots. Applied Engineering in Agriculture. 27(5): 829-838.
Xue, J. and T.E. Grift. Agricultural Robot Turning in the Headland of Corn Fields. Applied Mechanics and Materials 63-64, 780-784.
Grift, T.E., M. Bohn and J. Novais. High-Throughput Phenotyping Technology for Maize Roots. Biosystems Engineering 110, 40-48, doi:10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2011.06.004.
Miao, Z., T.E. Grift, A.C. Hansen and K.C. Ting. Energy Requirement for Comminution of Biomass in Relation To Particle Physical Properties. Industrial crops and products 33, 504-513, doi:10.1016/j.indcrop.2010.12.016.
Xue, J., T.E. Grift and A.C. Hansen. Effect Of Biodiesel On Engine Performances And Emissions. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 15, 1098-1116, doi:10.1016/j.rser.2010.11.016.
Grift, T.E. The First Word: The Farm of the Future. Transactions of the ASABE. 18(1):4.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2012
Citation:
Zhang, L. and T.E. Grift. A LIDAR-based crop height measurement system for Miscanthus giganteus. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 85: 70-76, doi:10.1016/j.compag.2012.04.001.
Zhang, L. and T.E. Grift. A Monocular Vision-Based Diameter Sensor for Miscanthus giganteus. Biosystems Engineering 111: 298-304, doi: 10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2011.12.007.
Xue, J., L. Zhang and T.E. Grift. Variable field of view-machine vision based row guidance of an agricultural robot. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 84: 85-91, doi:10.1016/j.compag.2012.02.009.
Johnson, P.C., C.L. Clementson, S.K. Mathanker, T.E. Grift and A.C. Hansen. Cutting energy characteristics of miscanthus stems with varying oblique angle and cutting speed. Biosystems Engineering, doi:10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2012.02.003.
Miao, Z., Y. Shastri, T.E. Grift, A.C. Hansen and K.C. Ting. Lignocellulosic biomass feedstock transportation alternatives, logistics, equipment configurations and modeling. Biofuels, Bioproducts & Biorefining 6(3): 351-362, doi: 10.1002/bbb.1322.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Miao, Z., Y.N. Shastri, T.E. Grift and K.C. Ting. Lignocellulosic biomass feedstock supply logistics and system integration. p: 37-60 (Chapter 2). In: B. Zhang and Y. Wang (eds). Biomass Processing, Conversion and Biorefinery. NOVA Science Publishers, Hauppauge, New York, USA (ISBN: 978-1-62618-346-9).
Miao, Z., T.E. Grift, A.C. Hansen and S.K. Mathanker. Energy requirement for lignocellulosic feedstock densifications in relation to particle physical properties pre-heating and binding agents. Energy Fuels 2013, 27, 588-595, doi:10.1021/ef301562k.
Miao, Z., T.E. Grift, A.C. Hansen and K.C. Ting. An overview of lignocellulosic biomass feedstock harvest, processing and supply for biofuel production. Biofuels (2013) 4(1), 5-8, doi:10.4155/BFS.12.76.
Miao, Z., J.W. Phillips, T.E. Grift and S.K. Mathanker. Energy and pressure requirement for compression of Miscanthus giganteus to an extreme density. Biosystems Engineering 114(1): 21-25, doi:10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2012.10.002.
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Progress 01/01/12 to 12/31/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: In Area One, Visiting Research Assistant professor Dr. Zewei Miao conducted a rigorous literature review in the area of biomass production. In addition, we completed a project together with professor emeritus James Phillips, in which biomass was compressed to a huge pressure of 750 MPa. An experiment was conducted in which biomass was prepared in various forms (in terms of particle size, compression level, etc.) and the conversion efficiency studied (not published). A visit was made to CTBE (Center for Technology development in BioEthanol) Brazil to extrapolate this idea to sugarcane bagasse. In addition, new methods to study the very complex compression mechanism of biomass were pursued. Here the electrical capacitance of biomass during compression was treated as a proxy to determine the transition among three basic phases of biomass compression. In Area Two, doctoral student Lei Zhang evaluated two new vision-based methods of yield monitoring in Miscanthus Giganteus. Postdoctoral researcher Dr. Sunil Mathanker evaluated another method based on an instrumented push bar mechanism. In Area Three, PI Tony Grift was on sabbatical leave at the University of Queensland, Australia. This visit has led to a new project at the University of Illinois together with the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture & Food Innovation (QAAFI) and Pioneer regarding optimized imaging techniques to visualize roots in rhizotron systems. We have built a new rhizotron system that is used to evaluate new technologies for high-resolution imaging of root systems under various soil surroundings. In Area Four, visiting scientist Dr. Jinlin Xue developed a new method for guiding an agricultural robot through a corn field. MS student Fu Ouyang has graduated with a Master's degree in August, 2012 on the topic of Robotic Technologies for Thinning of Fruit. The results have been disseminated through various journals, symposia, International Meetings, and through visits to Australia, and Brazil. PARTICIPANTS: Dr. Martin Bohn, Associate professor, Dept. of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois. Dr. Zewei Miao, Visting Research Assistant professor, Dept of Agricultural & Biological Engineering, University of Illinois. Dr. Sunil Mathanker, Postdoctoral researcher, Dept of Agricultural & Biological Engineering, University of Illinois. Dr. Yuesheng Tang, visiting scholar through the China Research Council. Ed Roy, MSc graduate student. Fu Ou Yang, MSc Graduated MSc, Dept of Agricultural & Biological Engineering, University of Illinois. Robert Reis, MSc graduate student. TARGET AUDIENCES: A corn cane mechanism was demonstrated at a John Deere field day. PI Tony Grift together with professor Martin Bohn (Crop Sciences) presented current high throughput phenotyping research at the University of Queensland, Australia. PI Tony Grift presented current bioenergy research at CTBE Brazil. Several efforts were made to educate high school students during departmental visits such as the Illini Summer Academy, Research Apprentice Program II (minority program), EYO (Explore Your Options) program as well as ExplorACES (college of Agricultural Consumer and Environmental Sciences) and College of Engineering Open House. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
In Area One, we have compressed biomass to the highest pressure level ever reported on. This was enabled by the use of one of the three largest Universal Testing Machines in the U.S., capable of generating a force of 13 Mega Newton. We discovered that at this pressures level biomass can self-combust. This was the first time such a phenomenon was reported on. Hatch funds allowed us to perform this research, since it was done in a Mechanical Engineering department. The impact of this project will be felt immediately, since many researchers speculate that the achieveable compression level of biomass is virtually unlimited. We have proven that there is a limit posed not by the energy requirement, but by the size of the machinery needed to achieve extremely high compression levels. Another common misconception is that biomass after huge compression levels somehow loses its energy potential. We have shown through microscopic image analysis that the cell walls do not collapse even under huge pressures and therefore the conversion potential remains unaffected. In addition, in Area One we have shown that the form (particle size, compression level) has a very high impact on conversion potential after pretreatment using dilute acid. We discovered that compression of biomass can increase the conversion efficiency by 10%. It is currently unclear what the mechanism is that causes this effect. In Area Two we have shown that relatively simple mechanisms can be used for a Look-Ahead Yield Monitor (LAYM) in Miscanthus. This idea is now used to optimize the throughput of material through a harvester by adjusting the speed according to the material entering the machine. In Area Three, to study the development of root systems in corn and sorghum rhizotrons in which roots grow against vertical panes of glass, roots were erected in Gatton Australia. However, it became clear that the system was not developed with engineering in mind, owing to major problems with reflections, and the use of flatbed scanners to acquire imagery. We have now completed an automated system that eliminates reflections (even in greenhouses that are extremely bright in Australia), and allows for high resolution imaging of root systems using an IPhone 4S, 8 megapixel camera. A preliminary finding was that the fractal dimension (complexity measure) of the root system is congruent with the complexity of the soil surrounding the roots. The method as developed will help breeders collect more detailed data regarding the growth mechanism of roots among various soil types. In Area Four, we have developed a robotic method that allows for thinning of fruit in a laboratory environment. This project has shown the true level of complexity in real life fruit thinning, and it may in fact show that the idea of robotic thinning of fruit is not feasible. PI Tony Grift received a Classroom Enhancement grant and organized the 6th ASABE Robotic Student Design Competition, Dallas Texas.
Publications
- Maughan, J.D., S.K. Mathanker, B.M. Fehrenbacher, T.E. Grift and A.C. Hansen. 2012. Impact of cutting speed, blade type, and blade angle on miscanthus harvesting power requirement. ASABE Meeting Paper No. 121338182. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASABE.
- Maughan, J.D., S.K. Mathanker, T.E. Grift and A.C. Hansen. 2012. Yield monitor and mapping systems for hay and forage harvesting: A review. ASABE Meeting Paper No. 121338184. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASABE.
- Grift, T.E. 2012. Embracing Variability: How To Hug A Cactus. 'The Last Word', July/August issue of Resource Magazine.
- Zhang, L. and T.E. Grift. 2012. A LIDAR-based crop height measurement system for Miscanthus giganteus. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 85: 70-76, doi:10.1016/j.compag.2012.04.001.
- Zhang, L. and T.E. Grift. 2012. A monocular vision-based diameter sensor for Miscanthus giganteus. Biosystems Engineering 111: 298-304, doi: 10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2011.12.007.
- Mathanker, S.K., A.C. Hansen, T.E. Grift and K.C. Ting. 2012. Sensing miscanthus stem bending force and swathed biomass volume to predict yield. In: Proc. Science for Biomass Feedstock Production and Utilization, Knoxville, TN: Sun Grant Initiative.
- Xue, J., L. Zhang and T.E. Grift. 2012. Variable field of view-machine vision based row guidance of an agricultural robot. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 84: 85-91, doi:10.1016/j.compag.2012.02.009.
- Johnson, P.C., C.L. Clementson, S.K. Mathanker, T.E. Grift and A.C. Hansen. 2012. Cutting energy characteristics of miscanthus stems with varying oblique angle and cutting speed. Biosystems Engineering, doi:10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2012.02.003.
- Miao, Z., Y. Shastri, T.E. Grift, A.C. Hansen and K.C. Ting. 2012. Lignocellulosic biomass feedstock transportation alternatives, logistics, equipment configurations and modeling. Biofuels, Bioproducts & Biorefining 6(3): 351-362, doi: 10.1002/bbb.1322.
- Mathanker, S.K., J.D. Maughan, A.C. Hansen and T.E. Grift. 2012. LIDAR based biomass yield estimation.ASABE Meeting Paper No. 121338186. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASABE.
- Mathanker, S.K., J.D. Maughan, A.C. Hansen and T.E. Grift. 2012. Development of on-vehicle sensing and mapping system for bioenergy crop harvesting. ASABE Meeting Paper No.121338179. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASABE.
- Mathanker, S.K., J.D. Maughan, A.C. Hansen, T.E. Grift and K.C. Ting. 2012. Biomass yield estimation using LIDAR and load cells. 2nd Annual Society of Postdoctoral Scholars Symposium, Urbana, IL: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
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Progress 01/01/11 to 12/31/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The goal of the Hatch project "Bio-systems Automation Technology Development" is to develop intelligence-enabled machinery to improve practices in bio-systems in Agriculture for food/fiber/energy production as well as Forestry. Technologies will be developed that will contribute to productivity, reduced environmental impact, improved working conditions, health and safety of farm workers and overall profitability and sustainability of the industry. Some specific objectives are the development of: 1) Methods for transportation of energy crop biomass; 2) Tools allowing breeding of root architectures optimized for drought and nitrogen deficiency conditions in maize; 3) Methods to automate tasks in the specialty crop area; and 4) Development of yield monitoring technologies for various crops. In area 1), a new initiative was taken to measure the Poisson ratio of biomass in collaboration with professor James Phillips. Post-doc Zewei Miao was promoted to the rank of "Visiting Research Assistant Professor". In area 2) graduate student Joana Novais graduated with a PhD in August, 2011. A new visiting scholar Yu Zhang is now working on corn ear phenotyping. In area 3), MS student Fu Ouyang has developed a 1/4 scale robotic system that can remove blossoms from fruit trees. In area 4) doctoral student Lei Zhang graduated with a PhD in August, 2011. PI Tony Grift received a Classroom Enhancement grant ($2,000) and organized the 5th ASABE Robotic Student Design Competition (a team from Illinois participated supported by Hatch funds). In 2012 the PI will spend four months in Brisbane, Australia to work on Maize Root Phenotying. He received an ACES International Collaboration Grant ($2,500) and a Fulbright grant ($10k) for this purpose. PARTICIPANTS: Dr. Martin Bohn, Associate professor, Dept. of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois. Dr. Zewei Miao, Visiting Research Assistant Professor, Dept. of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Illinois. Dr. Lei Zhang, Graduated PhD, Dept. of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Illinois. Dr. Joana Novais, Graduated PhD,, Dept. of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois. Yu Zhang, visiting scholar through the China Research Council. Ed Roy, MSc graduate student. Fu Ou Yang, MSc graduate student. Robert Reis, MSc graduate student. TARGET AUDIENCES: A Corn Root Imaging Box (CRIB) was demonstrated at the Agronomy Day, August 13th, 2011. PI Tony Grift was invited to organize two workshops titled "Farm of the Future" at the AgMasters conference, Urbana, Illinois, December 7th, 2011. Several efforts were made to educate high school students during departmental visits such as the Illini Summer Academy, Research Apprentice Program II (minority program), EYO (Explore Your Options) program as well as ExplorACES (College of Agricultural Consumer and Environmental Sciences) and College of Engineering Open House. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
PI Tony Grift was awarded a Presidential Citation from the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers "For service to the profession and to the Society through his visionary and discerning contributions as guest editor of a special "The Farm of the Future" issue of Resource magazine, January/February 2011".
Publications
- Miao, Z., Shastri, Y., Grift, T.E., Hansen, A.C. and Ting, K.C. 2011. Review of lignocellulosic biomass feedstock transportation. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining (In Press).
- Cordill, C. and Grift, T.E. 2011. Design and testing of an intra-row mechanical weeding machine for corn. Biosystems Engineering 110, 247-252, doi:10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2011.07.007
- Bac, W., Grift, T.E. and Menezes, G. 2011. Development of a tabletop guidance system for educational robots. Applied Engineering in Agriculture. 27(5): 829-838.
- Xue, J. and Grift, T.E. 2011. Agricultural robot turning in the headland of corn fields. Applied Mechanics and Materials 63-64, 780-784.
- Grift, T.E., Bohn, M. and Novais, J. 2011. High-throughput phenotyping technology for maize roots. Biosystems Engineering 110, 40-48, doi:10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2011.06.004.
- Miao, Z., Grift, T.E., Hansen, A.C. and Ting, K.C. 2011. Energy requirement for comminution of biomass in relation to particle physical properties. Industrial Crops and Products 33, 504-513, doi:10.1016/j.indcrop.2010.12.016.
- Xue, J., Grift, T.E. and Hansen, A.C. 2011. Effect of biodiesel on engine performances and emissions. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 15, 1098-1116, doi:10.1016/j.rser.2010.11.016.
- Grift, T.E. 2011. The first word: The farm of the future. Transactions of the ASABE. 18(1):4.
- Johnson, P.C., Clementson, C.L., Mathanker, S.K., Hansen, A.C. and Grift, T.E. 2011. Cutting energy for selected bioenergy plant stalks. ASABE Meeting Paper No. 1110800. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASABE.
- Johnson, P., Clementson, C.L., Hansen, A.C. and Grift, T.E. 2011. Harvesting biomass feedstock as a source for energy. ASABE Meeting Paper No. 1110800. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASABE.
- Grift, T.E. 2011. Picking the low fruit: The last word. July/August issue of Resource Magazine.
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Progress 01/01/10 to 12/31/10
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The goal of the Hatch project "Bio-systems Automation Technology Development" is to develop intelligence-enabled machinery to improve practices in bio-systems in Agriculture for food/fiber/energy production as well as forestry. Technologies will be developed that will contribute to productivity, reduced environmental impact, improved working conditions, health and safety of farm workers and overall profitability and sustainability of the industry. Some specific objectives are the development of: 1) Autonomous robots for field scouting; 2) Methods for transportation of energy crop biomass; 3) Sensors to measure granular flow rates of grains, seeds and fertilizers; 4) Tools allowing breeding of root architectures optimized for drought and nitrogen deficiency conditions in maize; 5) Methods to automate tasks in the specialty crop area; and 6) Development of yield monitoring technologies for various crops. Outputs In Area 1: A new robotic guidance method was developed by visiting scientist Jinlin Xue. He developed a camera based method that allows guidance of a robot while varying the pitch roll and yaw of the camera. In Area 2: Major research has been conducted in the area of comminution of biomass and the energy costs associated with the process of size reduction. In addition, a major research effort was to evaluate energy requirements for compression of biomass. This research was led by Research Associate Dr. Zewei Miao. A new student (Robert Reis) was hired to develop an automated sorting method for Miscanthus Rhizomes. This project is now funded through Hatch funds, but in the future hopefully extended by funds from either USDA or through the Energy Biosciences Institute at Illinois. In Area 4: A new method was developed that allows 3D imaging of Maize roots using a slanted laser illuminated machine vision approach. Together with Dr. Martin Bohn (Crop Sciences, University of Illinois) $100,000 was obtained from Dow for this project. A proposal was submitted to NSF to pursue funding for a large 'Root Laboratory' at Illinois. In Area 5: A new student (Fu Ou Yang) was hired to develop a robotic system for thinning of fruit trees. This project is funded by a USDA-SCRI grant "Innovative Methods for Thinning of Fruit". In Area 6: A new MSc student (Ed Roy) was hired to develop a reliable method for the measurement of corn stalk diameters in the field. The student is funded by Deere & Co for a two-year project in the amount of $100,000. This work was based on the development of a 'Corn Stalk Counter' which had a press release in early 2010. Doctoral student Lei Zhang has completed work on a yield monitor for Miscanthus. He is slated to graduate with a PhD in May 2011. PARTICIPANTS: Dr. Martin Bohn, Associate professor, Dept. of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois. Dr. Zewei Miao, Research Associate, Dept of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Illinois. Lei Zhang, Graduate Student, Dept of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Illinois. Joana Novais, Graduate Student, Dept. of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois. Ed Roy, MSc graduate student. Fu Ou Yang, MSc graduate student. Robert Reis, MSc graduate student. TARGET AUDIENCES: A 'Corn Stalk Counter' was demonstrated at the 2010 Agronomy Day on August 13th. The audience is the farm community in Central Illinois. Several efforts were made to educate high school students during departmental visits such as the Illini Summer Academy, Research Apprentice Program II (minority program), and the EYO (Explore Your Options) program as well as ExplorACES (college of Agricultural Consumer and Environmental Sciences) and College of Engineering Open House. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
PhD student Joana Novais was awarded a $2,500 Graduate Student Award from NCCPC. In Area 3 an Outstanding Paper Award was received by the PI and Dr. Kate Crespi from the journal Biosystems Engineering. This award is awarded to one out of approximately 100 papers.
Publications
- Zhang, L. and Grift, T.E. 2010. A new approach to crop-row detection in corn. ASABE Paper No. 1009237. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASABE.
- Miao, Z., Grift, T.E., Hansen, A.C. and Ting, K.C. 2010. Specific energy consumption of biomass particle production and particle physical property. ASABE Paper No. 1008497. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASABE.
- An ASABE Resource Magazine issue titled "Farm of the Future" was completed that will be published in Jan/Fed 2011. The PI is a guest editor who obtained 21 articles from prominent people in the broader area of Agriculture.
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Progress 01/01/09 to 12/31/09
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The goal of the Hatch project "Bio-Systems Automation Technology Development" is to develop intelligence-enabled machinery to improve practices in bio-systems such as in Agriculture for food/fiber/energy production as well as forestry. Technologies will be developed that will contribute to productivity, reduced environmental impact, improved working conditions, health and safety of farm workers and overall profitability and sustainability of the industry. Some specific objectives are the development of: 1) Mechanical weeding tools as an alternative to spraying; 2)Robots to detect soil and crop conditions, stresses, diseases and insect infestations; 3) Weed identification sensors and algorithms; 4) Sensors to measure soil compaction in real time to allow adaptive tillage and energy savings; 5) Sensors to measure granular flow rates of grains, seeds and fertilizers; 6) Tools allowing breeding of root architectures optimized for drought and nitrogen deficiency conditions in maize. In area 2), a new robotic guidance method was developed by PhD student Lei Zhang. His work will be published in the coming year. In addition, a student from Wageningen University and Research Centre in the Netherlands conducted research for six months at the University of Illinois. He developed a laser-based tabletop guidance system for educational robots. This system will give indoor competitions an affordable localization system that will allow the organizers to raise the level of the proposed challenges. In addition, new funds were acquired from USDA to support a MSc student in the area of automation in specialty crops. An MSc student will be hired in 2010 to develop a robotic arm that links vision systems to actuators that can thin fruit trees automatically. In area 3), graduate student Chufan Lin completed his MSc thesis titled "A Support Vector Machine Enabled Weed Identification System". This work has set new standards for weed identification and it yielded measurable information regarding the optical time for weed recognition under field conditions. In area 5) research was completed with a paper in the development of a yield monitor for citrus fruits (Ehsani et al., 2009). We published research that showed that a proposed method did not work in this case, and an alternative was developed. In area 6), MSc student Joana Novais completed her work in which measured corn root parameters were interpreted in a genetic sense. New software was developed that automatically measures root angles of corn roots using machine vision, which can be aligned with work, carried out at the University of Queensland in Australia. In the coming year, two visiting scholars from The Netherlands and India are scheduled to participate in this project. Joana Novais is currently working on her PhD in the same area. PARTICIPANTS: Chufan Lin, Graduate Student, Dept of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Illinois. Lei Zhang, Graduate Student, Dept of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Illinois. Joana Novais, Graduate Student, Dept. of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois. Wouter Bac, Graduate Student, Wageningen University and Research Centre, the Netherlands. Dr. Martin Bohn, Associate Professor, Dept. of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois. Dr. Jason Osborne, Associate Professor, Department of Statistics, North Carolina State University. Dr. Reza Ehsani, Assistant Professor, Citrus Research and Education Center, University of Florida. Dr. Joe Maja, Post-doc, Citrus Research and Education Center, University of Florida. Dexing Zhong, Visiting student, Dept of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Illinois. Dr. Zewei Miao, Research Associate, Dept of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Illinois. TARGET AUDIENCES: The weed control research was disseminated at Agronomy Day, August 13th, 2009. The audience is the farm community in Central Illinois. In addition the ongoing research in the alternative energy area was displayed at this venue. Several efforts were made to educate high school students during departmental visits such as the Illini Summer Academy, Research Apprentice Program II (minority program), EYO (Explore Your Options) program as well as ExplorACES (college of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences) and College of Engineering Open House. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
The ASABE Robotic Student Design Competition was grown to eight teams. Wouter Bac was awarded a MSc degree from Wageningen University and Research Centre in the Netherlands. Wouter also won a Master's thesis competition in the amount of $1,200. Chufan Lin was awarded a MSc degree from the department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering at the University of Illinois. Chufan was awarded a Graduate Research award in the amount of $2,300 because of his high GPA (3.98) as well as his assistance in teaching. Chufan is currently working as an intern at the John Deere Technology Innovation Center at the University of Illinois Research Park. Visiting student Dexing Zhong was awarded a PhD from his home university supported by his work in the area of corn root complexity assessment. Joana Novais was awarded a MSc degree in the department of Crop Sciences based on her research accomplishments in the area of corn root complexity assessment.
Publications
- Zhong, D., Novais, J., Grift, T.E., Bohn, M. and Han, J. 2009. Maize root complexity analysis using a support vector machine method. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 69: 46-50.
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Progress 01/01/08 to 12/31/08
Outputs
OUTPUTS: 1.1. Sensor development: During the period discussed here the PI continued work initiated during his PhD studies where a mass flow measurement device for granular materials was developed. The power of the method developed is that it is based on a solid mathematical model, is valid for any particle irrespective of its diameter distribution and most importantly does not require calibration. In cooperation with statisticians from the University of California at Los Angeles (Dr. Kate Crespi) and North Carolina State University (Dr. Jason Osborne), the method was refined and completed. Four papers have been published on the topic (Grift, 2003; Grift and Crespi 2008a; Grift and Crespi 2008b; Osborne and Grift, 2008). The mass flow sensing principle was extended to the specialty crop area, where the PI developed two methods of flow rate measurement for citrus fruits in collaboration with Dr. Reza Ehsani of the University of Florida's Citrus Research and Education Center (Grift et al., 2006a; Ehsani et al., 2008). In the area of soil sensing, the PI directed a project conducted by PhD student Mehari Tekeste, where an acoustic sensor was used to measure the location of a compaction layer (Grift et al., 2005). Dr. Tekeste is currently employed by the John Deere Technology Center, Moline, Illinois, in the area of soil sensing. In addition, a sensor was developed to measure the diameter of seedlings in tree production in collaboration with Italian visiting scientist Dr. Roberto Oberti (Grift and Oberti, 2006). Furthermore, in collaboration with Dr. Martin Bohn of the University of Illinois Crop Sciences dept., a sensing system was developed which yields a quantitative estimation of the complexity of corn roots based on Fractal dimension (Bohn, et al., 2006). 1.2. Variable Rate Application Technology: The aim of this research was to develop a feedback controlled fertilizer spreader system based on an optical sensor developed in earlier research. PhD student Giyoung Kweon did extensive research on the development of such a system (Kweon and Grift, 2006). During his research it was also discovered that the traditional treatment of particle-wall interaction as a Coulomb Friction process was fundamentally flawed, and two alternative methods were developed (Kweon et al, 2007; Grift et al, 2006b) 1.3. Autonomous Machinery: In 2007, a project was started titled "Development and Evaluation of High Efficiency Flexible Intelligent Farming Tools: Phase I - Autonomous Weed Control". This project has allowed the PI to hire three graduate students who work on developing tools for adaptive weed control where depending on the weed type encountered, either mechanical or chemical weed control is applied. The motivation for the research is the emergence of glyphosate tolerant weed species. The project was funded by the Counsel on Food and Agricultural Research (C-FAR). In the area of Robotics, the PI has also published two review papers covering the use of robotics in crop production (Grift, 2007) as well as in the bio-industry in general (Grift et al., 2008). PARTICIPANTS: In the area of mass flow sensing there has been intensive collaboration with Dr. Kate Crespi, University of California at Los Angeles, Dr. Jason Osborne, North Carolina State University, and Dr. Reza Ehsani, Citrus Research and Education Coucil, University of Florida. The soil sensing research was carried out by graduate student Dr. Mehari Tekeste, University of Georgia, currently at Deere and Co. In the Variable Rate Technology area, Dr. Giyoung Kweon received a PhD., he currently works at Veris Inc. The granular fertilizer application research was partly carried out at Cemagref, Montoldre, France, which has a staff of over 25 people working on this topic. Mr. Craig Cordill received an MS degree in the area of autonomous machinery, currently working for Washington State University. In the area of sensors for biosystems applications, visiting scholar Dr. Roberto Oberti, University of Milan, Italy, has contributed significantly to the development of a diameter sensor for tree seedlings. Collaborative work has been carried out with Dr Martin Bohn, Associate professor in the Crop Science department, University of Illinois. In the robotics area there has been intensive collaboration with Mr. Yoshisada Nagasaka, Mr. Kantaro Nishiwaki (both from National Agricultural Research Center, Japan) and Mr. Matthias Kasten (intern from Germany). Lei Zhang and Chufan Lin are currently working as a graduate students on the project in the area of adaptive weed control. TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audience for this project has been mainly academics in the areas of Sensor Development and Variable Rate Application. The robotics area is quite young and therefore the target audiences have been the general public and the farming community. Many popular articles were written for farm magazines such as in: Farm Industry News (April, 2007), Farm Industry News (March, 2007), Farm and Range Guide (Dec, 2005), Resource Magazine (October, 2005), Resource Magazine (September, 2005), Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette (March, 2005), Illini Horizon (December, 2004), Farm Week (August, 2004), Farm Journal (October, 2004), Farm Industry News (July, 2004), Prairie Farmer I (August, 2004), Prairie Farmer II (September, 2004), Illinois Issues (September, 2004), Illinois Alumni (September, 2004), and De Gelderlander (Dutch Newspaper) (June 2004). Another target audience was students, the Hatch funds have contributed to the initiation by the PI of the first Agricultural Robotics Competition. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
The Hatch supported research titled "Advanced Machinery for Biosystems Applications" during the period 06/01/03 - 12/31/2008 has led to 14 refereed publications, 2 graduate student completions (1PhD, 1MSc), two graduate students in progress (1PhD, 1MSc) and the promotion of the PI to Associate Professor. The funds also allowed many invited lectures in the area of Biosystems Automation in the U.S. (Grift, et al., 2005) as well as in France, Italy, The Netherlands, Germany, and Japan. The research on variable rate fertilizer application has garnered strong collaboration with Cemagref, the prime research institution in Agricultural and Environmental Engineering research in Montoldre, France. Based on earlier work, the PI was invited to visit the institute for two weeks in 2005. Graduate student Giyoung Kweon also spent three months at Cemagref (with stipend), where he finalized his research in early 2006. In October 2006, the PI was invited to speak at the 2nd International Symposium on Centrifugal Fertilizer Spreading. The impact that this work has had on the direction of research is evident since 4 out of 17 presentations at the conference were directly based on the fertilizer application research during his career. In the area of robotics, the PI was invited to spend 6 weeks in Japan on funded by the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science. The PI has gained significant recognition, judged by a cover story in The Furrow (published in 115 countries, in 14 languages, and a circulation of 1.5 million), as well as the invitation to participate in a funded 2 million dollar Specialty Crop research grant.
Publications
- Grift, T.E., Ehsani, R., Nishiwaki, N., Crespi, C. and Min, M. 2006. Development of a yield monitor for citrus fruits. ASAE Paper No. 061192. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASAE.
- Grift, T.E., Kweon, G., Hofstee, J.W., Piron, E. and Villette, S. 2006. Dynamic friction coefficient measurement of granular fertilizer particles. Biosystems Engineering 95(4):507-515, doi:10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2006.08.006.
- Grift, T.E. and Oberti, R. 2006. Development of low-cost root collar diameter measurement devices for pine seedlings. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture (52):60-70, doi:10.1016/j.compag.2006.01.005.
- Grift, T.E., Tekeste, M.Z. and Raper, R.L. 2005. Acoustic compaction layer detection. Transactions of the ASAE 48(5):1-8.
- Grift, T.E., Kasten, M. and Nagasaka, Y. 2005. Robotics in Agriculture: Asimov meets corn. In: Proceedings 2005 Illinois Crop Protection Technology Conference. Jan 5-6 2005. Urbana, IL.
- Grift, T.E. 2003. Fundamental mass flow measurement of solid particles. Particulate Science and Technology 21(2):177-193.
- Kweon, G. and Grift, T.E. 2006. Feed gate adaptation of a spinner spreader for uniformity control. Biosystems Engineering 95(1):19-34, doi:10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2006.05.003.
- Grift, T.E. and Crespi, C. 2008a Estimation of the flow rate of free falling granular particles using a Poisson model in time. Biosystems Engineering 101, 36-41, doi:10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2008.06.006.
- Ehsani, M.R., Grift, T.E., Maja, J.M. and Zhong, D. 2008. Two fruit counting techniques for citrus mechanical harvesting machinery. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, doi: 10.1016/j.compag.2008.09.002.
- Grift, T.E., Zhang, Q., Kondo, N. and Ting, K.C. 2008. Review of automation and robotics for the bio-industry. Journal of Biomechatronics Engineering 1(1):37-54.
- Grift, T.E. and Crespi, C. 2008. Estimating mean particle diameter in free-fall granular particle flow using a Poisson model in space. Biosystems Engineering 101, 28-35, doi:10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2008.06.005.
- Bohn, M., Novais, J., Fonseca, R., Tuberosa, R. and Grift, T.E. 2006. Genetic evaluation of root complexity in maize. Acta Agronomica Hungarica 54(3).
- Osborne, J.A. and Grift, T.E. 2008. M-estimation of Boolean models for particle flow experiments. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series C (Applied Statistics).
- Raper, R.L., Grift, T.E. and Tekeste, M.Z. 2004. A portable tillage profiler for measuring subsoiling disruption. Transactions of the ASAE 47(1): 23-27.
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Progress 01/01/07 to 12/31/07
Outputs
OUTPUTS: In the area of mass flow sensing, a project with the Citrus Research and Education Council of the University of Florida was continued. A visiting student (PhD) has completed this project, and one refereed publication is expected in 2008. In the robotics area, the project funded by C-FAR titled "Development and Evaluation of High Efficiency Flexible Intelligent Farming Tools: Phase I - Autonomous Weed Control" was initiated by hiring three students (2 MS, 1 PhD). Three publications are expected from this work in 2008. One notable publication was the cover story in The Furrow (John Deere, Inc.) about space age weed control. The Furrow is believed to be the most widely read farm magazine in the world. It is published in 14 languages and is circulated in more than 115 countries. It has a worldwide circulation of more than 1.5 million. The first ASABE Robotics Student Design Competition was held in June 2007 at the centennial meeting in Minneapolis, MN with great success. The
competition has yielded much attention in journals and TV interviews. The competition will be continued in 2008 with a challenge stemming from the forestry domain. A major proposal was funded by the Energy Biosciences Institute in the amount of $2 million over a period of three years (Ting, K.C., A. Hansen,, S. Eckhoff, T.E. Grift, L. Tian, L. Rodriguez, and Q. Zhang). A total of seven post-docs will be hired for this project. The Advanced Machinery for Biosystems Applications theme will be enhanced with a Biomass Transportation component, in which we will develop methods to optimize the flow of bio-energy crops to conversion plants. One post-doc will be active in the area of Transportation. Dissemination of the smart spreader research was completed with a final paper in 2007. In the Robotics Area, an invited paper was written for the Encyclopedia of Agricultural, Food and Biological Engineering. In addition, an invited lecture was given titled "Agricultural Robotics Research at the
University of Illinois". AgriBowl St. Louis, MO. Jan 26th, 2007.
TARGET AUDIENCES: Organic farmers and specialty crop growers and researchers.
Impacts
The impact of the mass flow sensing research will be the availability of a simple, reliable method of counting citrus fruit during harvesting in real time. Another impact is the realization that a method we proposed and tested earlier where the flow of fruits is considered a Poisson arrival process did not work, since this assumption was shown not to hold. It is uncommon for researchers to publish these kinds of "bad results", but I feel it is my obligation to show which paths are fruitful and which are not. The impact of the autonomous weed control research will be felt when inexpensive small autonomous weeding machines will be available to organic farmers. Since they are not expected to use pesticides, there is a desperate need for this type of technology. Secondly, the research also involves recognition of weed species that have become resistant to glyphosate, most notably, Waterhemp. Developing the technology for automated weed species identification is essential
as an early warning system. The impact of the EBI (BP) funded proposal will be huge, since we will analyze and optimize the production chain of biomass on a large scale which is unprecedented. The project has a duration of three years, but upon successful completion it is expected to last ten years.
Publications
- Grift, T.E. 2007. Robotics in crop production. Encyclopedia of Agricultural, Food and Biological Engineering. (Invited Paper). DOI: 10.1081/E-EAFE-120043046.
- Kweon, G., Grift, T.E. and Miclet, D. 2007. A spinning-tube device for dynamic friction coefficient measurement of granular fertilizer particles. Biosystems Engineering 97(2):131-143.
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Progress 01/01/06 to 12/31/06
Outputs
A mass flow measurement method developed by the PI was used to develop a yield monitor for citrus fruits in cooperation with the University of Florida Citrus Research and Education Council. This work is in progress and so far has yielded one unrefereed publication. A proposal regarding the development of an implantable blood cell counter was resubmitted to NSF (result known in Feb 2007). The Smart Spreader research was completed with the graduation of PhD student Giyoung Kweon in May 2006. This work resulted in two refereed publications in 2006 and another in review. The PI was invited to participate in the 2nd International Symposium on Centrifugal Fertilizer Spreading, Oct 24th 2006, Montoldre, France, paid by Cemagref, France. In the robotics area, MS student Rahul Chipalkatty graduated in Dec. 2005. A proposal by Grift, T.E., Bohn, M., Tian, L., Rodriguez, L. and Hager, A. titled " Development and Evaluation of High Efficiency Flexible Intelligent Farming Tools:
Phase I - Autonomous Weed Control" was funded in the amount of $297,975 by the Council for Food and Agricultural Research. An Agricultural Robotics Competition within the American Society for Agricultural and Biological Engineers was initiated by the PI with funding from the ASABE Foundation as well as Deere and Co. A root complexity assessment project was continued with Pioneer Hybred, Inc. which led to one refereed publication in 2006. A new student was hired to work on the project through 2007.
Impacts
The newly funded proposal in Agricultural Automation will kick start the development of an innovative method of weed control, while en passe showcasing the potential of robotics in agriculture. The funding from CFAR allows for hiring two PhD students and a Post-doc for a period of three years and during this period we will develop a highly intelligent machine that can recognize weeds, check if they are known to be resistant to glyphosate (such as waterhemp in Illinois) and treat them either chemically or mechanically. This research will impact the environment as well addressing concern bordering on skepticism regarding intelligent machinery in agriculture. We will also attempt to extend the Agricultural Automation area by focusing on tasks such as picking grapes with technology. This idea will demonstrate that technology can be used to replace illegal and often degrading labor. Further, we will develop proposals to aid NASA in its plans to build and outpost on Mars by
developing the 'farm in a box' concept. Another area of potential expansion is the role of automation in combination with alternative fuels such as Miscanthus and Ethanol production.
Publications
- Grift, T.E. and Oberti, R. 2006. Development of a low-cost root collar diameter measurement system for pine seedlings. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 52:60-70.
- Kweon, G. and Grift, T.E. 2006. Feed gate adaptation of a spinner spreader for uniformity control. Biosystems Engineering. Biosystems Engineering 95(1):19-34.
- Grift, T.E., Kweon, G., Hofstee, J.W., Piron, E. and Villette, S. 2006. Dynamic friction coefficient measurement of granular fertiliser particles. Biosystems Engineering. 95(4):507-515.
- Bohn, M., Novais, J., Fonseca, R., Tuberosa, R. and Grift, T.E. 2006. Genetic evaluation of root complexity in maize. Acta Agronomica Hungarica 54(3).
- Grift, T.E., Ehsani, R., Nishiwaki, N., Crespi, C. and Min, M. 2006. Development of a yield monitor for citrus fruits. ASAE Paper No. 061192. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASAE.
- Nishiwaki, K., Kondo, N., Kise, M., Zhang, Q., Grift, T.E., Tian, L. and Ting, K.C. 2006. Feasibility of using polarizing filters to reduce halation effects during image acquisition in the field. ASAE Paper No. 063009. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASAE.
- Kweon, G. and Grift, T.E. 2006. Development of an application rate and uniformity controlled granular fertilizer spreader. ASAE Paper No. 061069. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASAE.
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Progress 01/01/05 to 12/31/05
Outputs
1) In the sensor area, the acoustic plow pan research was completed with a publication in Transactions of the ASAE. In the mass flow measurement arena, together with CoPI prof. Kent Choquette, director micro and nanotechnology lab, a proposal was submitted to NSF regarding the Development of a fundamental method for detecting, counting and sizing biological particulates ($252,000). 2) The robotics research continues to spawn major interest from the media. One graduate student is finishing his Masters thesis in Dec. 2005 on the topic of Cooperative Robots (FlockBots). To continue the progress on the robotics work, funding was secured from the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Sciences for a six week visit by the PI to Japan from Dec 10th, 2005 through Jan 21st, 2006. A proposal was submitted to the Illinois Council for Food and Agricultural Research (C-FAR) to start a program in Agricultural Robotics at UIUC ($282,000). 3) Together with Dr. Martin Bohn, (Crop
Sciences) funding was secured for the Corn Root Imaging System from Pioneer Hybred, International. ($81,000). This project will start in January 2006. A pre-proposal was submitted to C-FAR to extend this research with field experiments. 4) The smart spreader research was continued. The PI spent 4 weeks in France during the summer of 2005, working with CEMAGREF, the prime Agricultural Engineering research institute in France. Funding was secured from CEMAGREF ($9,000) and the College of ACES (2,000) to send a PhD student to CEMAGREF for 3 months in early 2006 to work on the development of a rate and uniformity controller fertilizer spreader. The PhD student will graduate in May 2006.
Impacts
If funding is obtained, the impact of the detection and sizing method could be tremendous. We proposed to develop a generic method on the micro-scale for the detection, sizing, counting and possibly identification of small particles in fluids. This would allow developing waterborne pathogen detectors to be mounted in every faucet in a house as biological smoke detectors. The small size and absence of the need for calibration allow for implantable sensors to monitor blood flows in veins in real time. The logical proliferation of robotics technology in agriculture will continue and there is a need to start developing a highly automated farm where we can try the latest technologies, assess its economical, social and environmental impacts. There is a need for better sensors that are small, real time, which can measure weeds, diseases, insect infestations, crop stresses, and soil parameters. We are working on these sensors such as the Western Corn Rootworm damage
assessment project, and the acoustic plow pan detector, which is robot mountable.
Publications
- Grift, T.E., Tekeste, M.Z. and Raper, R.L. 2005 Acoustic plow pan detection. Trans. ASAE 48:1-8.
- Grift, T.E., Kasten, M. and Nagasaka, Y. 2005. Robotics in agriculture: Asimov meets corn. In: Proceedings 2005 Illinois Crop Protection Technology Conference. Jan 5-6 2005. Urbana, IL.
- Jeon, H.Y., Tian, L.F. and Grift, T.E. 2005. Development of an individual weed treatment system using a robotic arm. ASAE Paper No. 051004. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASAE.
- Grift, T.E. 2005. Robot synergy: A marriage of engineering and biology. September issue of Resource Magazine, ASAE.
- Ting, K.C. and Grift, T.E. 2005. Automation for bioprocessing and bioproduction. "The Last Word", October issue of Resource Magazine, ASAE.
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Progress 01/01/04 to 12/31/04
Outputs
1) In 2004, Field Robots were developed for Agricultural Scouting applications. AgBo, a four wheel steering robot with an intricate sensing and communication arrangement was developed as well as AgTracker, a low cost and ruggedized version. In June, 2004, AgBo was taken to the Netherlands where the International Field Robotics Competition was attended. The robotics activities have generated overwhelming attention in the press. There are publications on many web sites (even NASA). Here is a list of printed media that featured the Agricultural Robots: Illini Horizon (December, 2004), Farm Week (August, 2004), Farm Journal (October, 2004), Farm Industry News (July, 2004), Prairie Farmer I (August, 2004), Prairie Farmer II (September, 2004), Illnois Issues (September, 2004), Illinois Alumni (September, 2004), and De Gelderlander, (Dutch Newspaper - June 2004). Also, four television as well as live radio interviews were given. Currently, we are working on obtaining funding
from NASA to extend the robotics activities to space exploration. As a starting point for sensor development for robotic exploration, an acoustic, rotating cone penetrometer was developed. This system resembles a drill, which is pushed into the soil. The rotational torque is used combined with the insertion force to obtain an indication of the soil strength and bulk density. The acoustic data is used to determine the hardpan level as well as potentially soil texture. Preliminary tests were carried out in a soil bin of John Deere's Technology Center in Moline, IL. 2) Funding was received in 2003 for a Tractor Rollover Demonstration project from NIOSH. The basic components for the project were purchased and the strategy developed but it is was not completely finished in time due to personnel issues. It will be finished in early 2005. 3) A Western Corn Rootworm damage assessment project was started where machine vision is used to assess the root damage. This task is usually performed by
humans and the accuracy depends on the skill level, motivation and other emotional factors. To transform this subjective method into an objective one, an imaging arrangement was built and hundreds of roots were imaged. A preliminary analysis was performed and it showed that with relatively simple methods, different genotypes among plants can be identified. The next step is to use a fractal dimension to assess the damage level. After presenting the proposed method to Pioneer, potential funding looks very promising. 4) The Smart Spreader System as developed earlier was brought to Arvalis, an agricultural testing/certification institute in Boigneville, France. Arvalis has agreed to test the system and to compare its performance with the traditional Collection Tray method. After the system tests, in June 2005, the system will be presented at the bi-annual agricultural expo 'Les Culturales' and potential commercial realizations of the system will be pursued.
Impacts
The research will benefit the end user by supplying more accurate field information that can be easily accessed through the Internet. The rate and uniformity controlled fertilizer spreader will set a technological standard for equipment needed to apply at precise and varying levels which will be inevitable when EPA mandates this to ensure reduced environmental impact of agriculture. The overturn prediction project will show that the only method that truly predicts the overturn imminence under any condition is to measure the forces on all supporting wheels. The project will yield a demonstration tool used to elevate general public awareness of the danger of overturns and what technology can be used to prevent them altogether. The Western Corn Rootworm project will demonstrate the ability of a machine vision system to determine the damage levels in a rapid and consistent manner.
Publications
- Grift, T.E. 2004. Metric Eye for the AgE guy (and gal). The Last Word. February issue of Resource Magazine, ASAE.
- Hofstee, J.W., Grift, T.E. and Tian, L. 2004. Development of a tracking and guidance system for a field robot. AgEng conference paper. Sept. 13-15, 2004, Leuven Belgium.
- Raper, R.L., Grift, T.E. and Tekeste, M.Z. 2004. A portable tillage profiler for measuring subsoiling disruption. Transactions of the ASAE 47(1): 23-27.
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Progress 10/01/03 to 12/31/03
Outputs
1) A project was started to develop an autonomous robot. This robot will guide itself through a corn field and carry a weed detection sensor and elimination hardware. 2) Controller Area Networks are being developed as a backbone for distributed data acquistion systems to be used on all future machinery. Currently the CAN networks are being coupled to Ethernet networks using TINI hardware. This will allow for internet based (wireless) data acquisition and control. 3) A project was started to develop a rate and uniformity controlled fertilizer spreader. This machine uses a feedback sensor that was developed earlier. The feedback sensor gives information about the spread pattern quality and this information is used to adjust feeding gates to control the rate and uniformity. Currently the hardware that couples the sensor to the Controller Area Network bus is developed. The next step is to incorporate MatLab (mathematical computation software) into the control loop.
Furthermore, a GPS receiver needs to be integrated as well as a Virtual Terminal for user interfacing. The last part, controlling the feedgates using servos is still in progress. A proposal was submitted to the Illinois Fertilizer Research and Education Council to fund the remainder of this project. 4) A proposal is in progress to develop an integrated soil quality sensor which is a compilation of four different approaches by four universities (Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, Nebraska). The emphasis is on using the synergy and overlap between the sensor components on coupling the sensors in a distributed data acquisition system and to perform data digestion and fusion to obtain more reliable indicators for soil strength. 5) A proposal is in progress to use a counting method developed earlier and scale is to the micro level. This will allow for counting and identification of particles in the micrometer range, such as blood cells. Also, the principle can measure the sphericity of particles,
so it can perhaps be used to detect cryptosporidium parvum, a waterborne pathogen. 6) A project was started using a grant from NIOSH to detect the imminence of tractor overturns. A vehicle will be fitted with force sensors at all wheels and overturn imminence will be demonstrated to the public under varying vehicle geometry and under the infamous backward overturn which is sudden and unpredictable. This project is still in the design phase. 7) A project was started using a Seed-grant from the college of ACES to determine the damage level of Western Corn Rootworm. An imaging system was built and a high-quality camera used to image damaged corn roots. The images (about 1,000) will be used in a grant proposal to obtain significant funding from industry to develop a fully automated damage assessment tool.
Impacts
The research will benefit the end user by supplying more accurate field information that can be easily accessed through the Internet. The rate and uniformity controlled fertilizer spreader will set a technological standard for equipment needed to apply at precise and varying levels which will be inevitable when EPA mandates this to ensure reduced environmental impact of agriculture. The overturn prediction project will show that the only method that truly predicts the overturn imminence under any condition is to measure the forces on all supporting wheels. The project will yield a demonstration tool used to elevate general public awareness of the danger of overturns and what technology can be used to prevent them altogether. The Western Corn Rootworm project will demonstrate the ability of a machine vision system to determine the damage levels in a rapid and consistent manner.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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