Making a robot to help around my farm

[nduka-san]

TL;DR Summary

making a robot to help around the farm with 1000 dollars or maybe 2000

i want to make a robot that can plant seeds i made it ina tier of functions i just wana gauge public instrest to see if it would be useful or not and if i should change the measuremetns and the basic control options and anything else you recomend
robots measurements 3 by 2 feet
tier 1 must have
:rake,hoe,shovel to clean the farmland,
fan,to spit seeds out

battery

solar panels

waterproof
control of some kind I am going to say robotic since i think?? that coding is cheaper than useing a remote

by contorl i mean using color sensasors to realized the boudarys of the fields and turn around i would use blue bounardys or red whatevers bright and sticksout

tier 2:realistic addtison i can add with time

water dispenser for watering the seeds

remote for controling it
fertilzer despenser?
camera for watching the fields most likely a raspberry pi camera cause raspberry pis are awesome my guys
tier 3 i somehow get a dono or something and add this
drone budies to rain down fertilizer
some music i gueess
if you see any flaws or would like to suggest somthing let me know and thanks

 

[anorlunda]

It sounds easier said than done.

How do you know how much it will cost if you haven't built one? How do you know if it will be reliable and maintainable.

If you had a working prototype to demonstrate, it would be more interesting.

What's the difference between this robot and existing agricultural machinery that plants seeds?

 

[nduka-san]

its solar powered and small and can be used for personal farms

 

[nduka-san]

also i think i could do tier 1 with y budet but do you think its useful or just another run of the mil robot

 

[DaveC426913]

License your design to iRobot. They've got a Roomba, Poolba, Wallba, and even a Lawnba.

But so far, no CropBa.

 

[Vanadium 50]

I don't believe you can do this for $1000. A good lawn mower is $3000, and it does less and runs out of power in under an acre.

 

[DaveC426913]

I don't believe you can do this for $1000. A good lawn mower is $3000, and it does less and runs out of power in under an acre.

While I don't disagree with your conclusion (it'll easily cost an order of magnitude more for R&D alone), I do disagree with your rationale for it.

A lawnmower has a certain minimum power requirement or it can't cut grass at all.

A crop planter has no such minimum power requirement (that I can see). It could, in theory, operate only as fast as its solar panel provided power can accommodate. (Sure, it might take 2 hours of solar power to dig a single hole for a seed, but the OP didn't specify speed as a priority.)

(I grant the distinction is moot. The OP is attempting to design one of the most sophisticated, intelligent devices ever aimed at a consumer market, and power requirements are going to be the least of his troubles.)

 

[Vanadium 50]

It doesn't have to just poke a hold in the ground. It needs to clear the area - "rake,hoe,shovel to clean the farmland" That is very energy intensive. But it could be gas powered. I think the bigger problem is that the OP wants something that does more than a $3000 mower for a third the cost.

I also think the OP doesn't know much about modern first-world farming. A combine costs more than a house. Planters, which are the device most like he describes, are still well into six figures. A $1000 target for a robotic planter is like a $500 target for a self-driving car.

 

[nduka-san]

well i know about farming with my hands in my little garden and its going to probably be plowin cause its seems the most energy efficent

 

[nduka-san]

are we able to pin comments on this like on discord

 

[Vanadium 50]

Can you please use sentences? It would help understand you better.

 

[berkeman]

are we able to pin comments on this like on discord

Mentors can "pin" popular threads to the top of their respective forums when appropriate. This thread has a ways to go, but don't give up yet...

 

[berkeman]

I want to make a robot that can plant seeds i made it ina tier of functions

tier 1 must have
:rake,hoe,shovel to clean the farmland,
fan,to spit seeds out

water dispenser for watering the seeds
fertilzer despenser?

How do you accomplish these tasks now on your farm? Do you have a small tractor that you use to plow and fertilize and seed and water? If so, it may be easier to automate that small tractor with its attachments, rather than trying to build a whole new one.

If you don't use a tractor, do you have an animal that you use to pull the plow?

 

[Baluncore]

The problem with horticulture and farming is that everything is seasonal, you must wait for the critical weather and ground conditions, then finish the job overnight.

Intensive hydroponic horticulture in a controlled environment can use robots efficiently because the stages of production can cycle continuously. Production and utilisation of robots is then a continuous process without seasons.

Why use a machine? Marsupials do a really good job of lawn mowing.

Robots for weeding have applications when they apply herbicide to individual weeds in a crop.

If you use robots without some form of wealth distribution, the unemployed people will raid your farm.

 

[nduka-san]

later when i have all the stuff put up could we pin the requirment s for the project and stuff

 

[berkeman]

later when i have all the stuff put up could we pin the requirment s for the project and stuff

Nope, not here. Good try, though.

 

[nduka-san]

How do you accomplish these tasks now on your farm? Do you have a small tractor that you use to plow and fertilize and seed and water? If so, it may be easier to automate that small tractor with its attachments, rather than trying to build a whole new one.

If you don't use a tractor, do you have an animal that you use to pull the plow?

its my gramps farm we use a small tractor but the point is that its a mit think challenge and everythings got to be new

 

[berkeman]

its my gramps farm we use a small tractor but the point is that its a mit think challenge and everythings got to be new

Yeah, but designing and building a robot to drive the existing farm equipment is a lot more cost effective than trying to design and build all-new robotic farm equipment...

https://image.shutterstock.com/z/st...cyborg-artificial-intelligence-1186373551.jpg

 

[nduka-san]

im going to have to get a big battery maybe that can be my dono part

 

[phyzguy]

If you can build a robot that does everything you say for $1000, you will become very rich.

 

[DaveC426913]

If you can build a robot that does everything you say for $1000, you will become very rich.

If he builds a robot
If he can build a robot that does everything he says for $1,000,000 he will still become very rich.

 

[berkeman]

If you can build a robot that does everything you say for $1000, you will become very rich.

I think I've found a good investment partner for this project...

 

[DaveC426913]

It doesn't have to just poke a hold in the ground. It needs to clear the area - "rake,hoe,shovel to clean the farmland" That is very energy intensive.

Not if it's real slow. :)

I also think the OP doesn't know much about modern first-world farming. A combine costs more than a house. Planters, which are the device most like he describes, are still well into six figures. A $1000 target for a robotic planter is like a $500 target for a self-driving car.

 

[nduka-san]

would you suggest only doing tier one

 

[phinds]

would you suggest only doing tier one

I would suggest you get further along in designing something before you ask any more questions. I think there is general agreement here that you don't really understand what you are getting into.

 

[nduka-san]

i understand enough i know that il have to use 4 motors are probabay 6000 mm battery pak a solar panel to keep on charging it and some other stuff

 

[DaveC426913]

probabay 6000 mm battery pak

6m is pretty big for a battery. Your robot will be top heavy.

 

[nduka-san]

6m is pretty big for a battery. Your robot will be top heavy.

the problem is its got to be able to hoe the land and its supoosed to be able to be used for multiple types of things

 

[berkeman]

its my gramps farm we use a small tractor but the point is that its a mit think challenge and everythings got to be new

So this is for a school challenge at MIT?

 

[russ_watters]

Have you looked into existing seed planting drones?

 

[Vanadium 50]

A few things.

You say this is for the MIT Think Challenge. Ok, in that case:

(1) Your English has to improve substantially to have a shot. Use sentences. Check spelling. Use actual words and not non-words like "gonna".

(2) Read the proposal materials. Looks at the examples. Look at the past winners. Are your messages here anywhere near their level of quality? You have a lot of work to do.

Frankly, you should have already done this. Applications are due in three weeks, and you don't even have an idea yet. I can assure you that the successful proposals are all written by now, even if they are not finalized and submitted.

(3) Have some humility. You know nothing about modern farming is done, but think you can do it better. This will not impress the committee, at least not favorably. This actually works against you - if you come across as a know-it-all, why devote mentoring resources to help you? You already know it all.

(5) "probabay 6000 mm battery pak" does not help you case. That's a unit of length, and not batter capacity. If you mean 6000 mAh, that's much, much less than a planter uses. If you had done your homework, you would have learned 10 gallons of diesel per hour is about what these machines use - small to medium-sized. Your batter won't power this for longer than a tiny fraction of a second.

Please do your homework.

 

[DaveC426913]

... the point is that its a mit think challenge...

So this is for a school challenge at MIT?

Wait, what?? I totally missed that niggling detail! (because: grammar)

Talk about burying the lead...

 

[berkeman]

Wait, what?? I totally missed that niggling detail! (because: grammar)

Talk about burying the lead...

Yeah, it looks like that's where the OP's $1000 budget limitation came from (it's in the guidelines)...

https://think.mit.edu/static_files/THINK_Program_Guidelines_2020_21.pdf

 

[nduka-san]

A few things.

You say this is for the MIT Think Challenge. Ok, in that case:

(1) Your English has to improve substantially to have a shot. Use sentences. Check spelling. Use actual words and not non-words like "gonna".

(2) Read the proposal materials. Looks at the examples. Look at the past winners. Are your messages here anywhere near their level of quality? You have a lot of work to do.

Frankly, you should have already done this. Applications are due in three weeks, and you don't even have an idea yet. I can assure you that the successful proposals are all written by now, even if they are not finalized and submitted.

(3) Have some humility. You know nothing about modern farming is done, but think you can do it better. This will not impress the committee, at least not favorably. This actually works against you - if you come across as a know-it-all, why devote mentoring resources to help you? You already know it all.

(5) "probabay 6000 mm battery pak" does not help you case. That's a unit of length, and not batter capacity. If you mean 6000 mAh, that's much, much less than a planter uses. If you had done your homework, you would have learned 10 gallons of diesel per hour is about what these machines use - small to medium-sized. Your batter won't power this for longer than a tiny fraction of a second.

Please do your homework.

1 I am typin shorthand on phone but i you are correct i would have to type faster better enlish for this
2 i already have an idea 2 this is an extra idea
3 I am sorry for bein so cocky
4 doesn't exist
5 i mean 6000 mah but ill probabaly but the battery is just to store the solar panel its charers durin the niht as lon as it can plant the seeds of a small arde doesn't really matter to me tbh

 

[dlgoff]

Your robot will be top heavy.

And will get stuck in the mud.