System Design, Analysis, and Control of an Intelligent Vehicle for Transportation in Greenhouse

Changjie Wu, Xiaolong Tang and Xiaoyan Xu ()
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Changjie Wu: Logistics Engineering College, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai 201306, China
Xiaolong Tang: Logistics Engineering College, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai 201306, China
Xiaoyan Xu: Logistics Engineering College, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai 201306, China

Agriculture, 2023, vol. 13, issue 5, 1-15

Abstract: Smart agriculture represents a significant trend in agricultural development, given its potential to enhance operational efficiency and reduce labor intensity. Despite the adoption of modern greenhouse technologies, such as sensors and automation systems, crop transportation is still largely achieved through manual labor, largely due to the complex environment and narrow terrain of greenhouses. To address this challenge, this work proposes the design of an intelligent vehicle that is capable of transporting crops in a commercial greenhouse, with the aim of improving operational efficiency and reducing labor intensity. To enable the vehicle to navigate the horizontal and rail surfaces within the greenhouse, a novel chassis structure is designed that is capable of simultaneous driving on both ground and rail surfaces. Additionally, the two-dimensional codes is adopted for positioning and navigation, thereby avoiding the need to modify existing greenhouse road surfaces. Through the implementation of a comprehensive system-control strategy, the intelligent vehicle realized various functions, including ground driving, rail driving, moving up and down the rail, and automatic rail changing. Experimental results demonstrate that the designed intelligent vehicle successfully meets the basic requirements for crop transportation in a greenhouse, providing a solid foundation for future unmanned operations.

Keywords: greenhouse; intelligent vehicle; chassis design; system modeling; system control (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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