IPB Students Create a Robot helping with Harvest of Japanese Cucumber
Who would have thought that the farming in Indonesia, which has been of the traditional process, is now beginning to be eyed by robotics technology? Robotics is applied in farming to help farmers who need quite heavy physical labor. The Student Creativity Program – Karsa Cipta (PKM-KC) with the team of students of the Department of Machine and Biosystem Technology, Faculty of Agricultural Technology (Fateta) of Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) has designed a tool to assist the Japanese cucumber (Kyuri) farming in Lembang, Java West. The aspects that make them interested in designing this robotic system tool is of the Japanese cucumber harvesting. The students in the team are Sutan Muhammad Sadam Awal, Unggul Teguh Prasetyo, Ahmad Safrizal, and Alifah Nur Aini.
The idea of ??PKM came up when the students was doing a field practice in one of the vegetable farm in Lembang. They observed the farmers in charge of harvesting the Japanese cucumber having difficulty in carrying the crops because of the weight. During harvesting, farmers must carry the harvesting basket of Japanese cucumber. This makes the harvesting less ergonomic and less effective, which makes Sutan and his team design a tool called Asura with a Smart Assisting Robot system to increase the capacity of Japanese cucumber harvesting.
The working principle of Asura robot is to move automatically using Kinect IR Camera sensor which will detect the movement of harvesters. While walking, Japanese cucumber harvesters will be followed by Asura robots to accommodate the harvested cucumbers. The robot is also equipped with a detection tool that can record the harvested cucumber weights on a plot of land. Farmers can use the weight data to evaluate their farming techniques during the season for the next season.
A unit of Asura robot can accommodate about 30 kilograms of Japanese cucumber. Up to this first design period, Asura robot can only be used in Japanese cucumber farms grown in greenhouses because the terrain tends to be smooth. The use of Asura in other crop conditions is possible by first modifying the robot wheel. Development of Asura robot for harvesting of other commodities is also possible by adjusting the container capacity and engine power for transport.
Asura Robot is equipped with some devices to perform its functions, such as a web camera, motor drivers, DC motors, container, metal frames, operating systems, and programs. It is made in the Dramaga Campus of IPB, Bogor. Asura robot has passed trials and errors to ensure a good performance during the field test. Afield test of Asura is planned to be carried out at a Japanese cucumber farmhouse in Lembang, West Java.
It is expected that Asura robot can support the creation of precision agriculture, namely the implementation of efficient agricultural activities in various aspects. It is designed with the benefits that it will help farmers with the harvesting labor and they can check the status of plant production recorded by Asura. The presence of robot technology can now also be used for the advancement of agriculture in Indonesia. (Mtd)
