Adaptive Agricultural Robots for Uneven Terrain: Navigation, Monitoring and Harvesting

Dear Colleagues,

Agricultural environments present significant challenges for robotic systems because of uneven and deformable terrain, steep slopes, dense vegetation, variable illumination, unpredictable obstacles, and the absence of clearly structured paths. These conditions limit the effectiveness of robots originally designed for controlled environments and increase the need for adaptable, autonomous, and robust systems capable of performing useful tasks under real field conditions. At the same time, labor shortages, occupational risks, climate variability, and the demand for more efficient agricultural production are accelerating the development of field robotics and intelligent agricultural technologies.

This Special Issue aims to present and disseminate recent advances in the design, control, perception, navigation, and experimental validation of agricultural robots operating in uneven and unstructured environments. Particular attention will be given to systems that combine terrain-adaptive mobility with crop monitoring, transportation, selective harvesting, spraying, inspection, or other agricultural operations.

We welcome original research articles, review papers, and technical studies presenting theoretical, computational, and experimental contributions. Studies involving prototypes and field validation under realistic agricultural conditions are particularly encouraged.

Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to:

Wheeled, tracked, legged, hybrid, and transformable agricultural robots;

Adaptive locomotion, suspension, and reconfigurable mechanisms;

Wheel–terrain interaction and mobility over uneven or deformable surfaces;

Autonomous navigation, localization, mapping, and sensor fusion;

Path planning, trajectory control, and obstacle avoidance;

Artificial intelligence and machine learning for field robotics;

Computer vision for fruit, crop, disease, and obstacle detection;

Robotic harvesting and selective agricultural operations;

Agricultural manipulators, grippers, and end effectors;

Mobile manipulation and coordinated robotic systems;

Multi-robot and human–robot collaboration in agriculture;

Crop monitoring, precision agriculture, and robotic inspection;

Digital twins, simulation, and virtual validation of agricultural robots;

Agricultural exoskeletons and wearable robotic systems;

Experimental evaluation and field deployment under realistic conditions.

Through this Special Issue, we seek to bring together researchers and practitioners working at the intersection of robotics, mechatronics, artificial intelligence, and agriculture, promoting solutions that improve the adaptability, reliability, and practical applicability of robotic systems in demanding agricultural environments.

Dr. Jose Luis Ordoñez-Avila
Guest Editor

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