Smart Robotics and Sensors in Precision Agriculture

Dear Colleagues,

The rapid evolution of sensing technologies is transforming the agricultural sector, improving crop quality and productivity while optimizing natural resources, reducing operational costs, and minimizing environmental impact. Sensors are increasingly integrated into autonomous and semi-autonomous agricultural systems to not only monitor but also act upon field conditions in real time.

The most widely used remote sensors are optical passive ones, which include RGB, multispectral, hyperspectral, and thermal cameras. These sensors are ideal for the real-time data collection of soil, plant and environmental parameters and can be employed for the early detection of disease or nutrient deficiencies. Among active remote sensors, radio detection and ranging (RADAR) and light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensors are the most widely used; they can provide 3D canopy models and assess plant height and biomass. Proximal sensors include those for measuring soil properties such as apparent electrical conductivity, radionuclides concentration, and monitoring pollutant emissions. Finally, contact sensors can be placed in the soil to evaluate several parameters (temperature, moisture, electrical conductivity, nutrients) or directly on plants (e.g., fluorometers, leaf wetness sensors, portable chlorophyll and photosynthesis systems, dendrometers) to assess plant health. Nowadays, these sensors are commercially available, but some research groups around the world develop novel and innovative sensors for crop monitoring and management.  All these sensors can be used as standalone devices or integrated as payloads on unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and hybrid–electric agricultural tractors in complex and multi-sensor robotic systems. The data acquired by the sensors must be suitably processed and eventually fused, using commercial software or custom novel algorithms to extract agronomic information. When combined and spatially aligned, these technologies create multi-scale datasets that enable precision operations such as variable-rate fertilization, irrigation scheduling, pest control, and automated canopy management.

We are pleased to invite you to publish high-quality scientific research on the use and/or the fabrication of remote, proximal, and contact sensors in precision agriculture applications. Research addressing the development of novel custom algorithms to process data acquired by the sensors and extract useful agronomic information is also highly welcome.

In this Special Issue, original and high-quality research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but is not limited to) the following areas:

• Use of standalone remote, proximal, and contact sensors to measure soil, plant, and environmental parameters in precision agriculture applications.
• Integration of remote, proximal and contact sensors into complex systems that include UAVs, UGVs or hybrid–electric agricultural tractors for precision agriculture applications.
• Design and fabrication of novel and innovative sensors for monitoring soil, plant, and environmental parameters.
• Development of complex and multi-sensor robotic systems for precision agriculture and smart farming solutions.
• Implementation of novel algorithms for data processing and information extraction to assess vegetation and stress indices and provide yield estimation.
• Technical and feasibility analysis of the challenges related to the implementation of these new technologies.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Dario Lodi Rizzini
Dr. Francesco Paciolla
Dr. Marco Sozzi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• sensors
• precision agriculture
• remote sensing
• proximal sensing
• unmanned ground vehicles
• unmanned aerial vehicles
• data processing
• sensor fabrication
• multi-sensor robotic systems
• Commercial Agricultural Robots (CARs)