Swarm Robotics for Agricultural Applications
A special issue of AgriEngineering (ISSN 2624-7402).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 November 2021) | Viewed by 693
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
“Many hands make light work”. – English proverb
Dear Colleagues,
As we seek to feed the Earth’s 7.8 billion people through the work of a small and decreasing percentage of that population, we rely increasingly on automated equipment in agriculture. Machines with superhuman throughput have been a staple of the agriculture industry for over a century, so naturally, these have been the first to become fully autonomous. Nonetheless, some agricultural tasks, especially those requiring delicate or individualized treatment of crops, have proven impracticable for large devices. Even as tractors, combines, sprayers, and planters have become driverless, the perceptive senses and nimble touch of humans are still required in many situations. As labor costs rise, artificial intelligence improves, and mechatronic components become smaller, cheaper, and more efficient as a vision of many robotic hands comes closer to realization.
The focus of this Special Issue of AgriEngineering is the application of swarm robotics to agriculture. We seek studies with experimental results involving agricultural robots designed to operate autonomously, in parallel, and scalably. Sensors, software, end-effectors, and other payloads particularly suited for use with such robots will also be considered. By collecting several recent developments between covers, this issue seeks to achieve the critical mass needed to inspire a revolution in practical agricultural swarm robotics.
Prof. Dr. Matt Haberland
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. AgriEngineering is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.
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.
Keywords
- swarm robotics
- precision agriculture
- precision viticulture
- agricultural drones
- drone sprayers
- drone pollination
- nanodrones
- microrobotics
- nanorobotics
- agricultural automation
- sensors
- drone-compatible software
- big data
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.
