Abstract
As Thailand's aging population increases, even with Thai farmers entering the senior age group. They require agricultural tools and equipment to facilitate their farming to prevent aging from impacting their careers, modern agricultural technology is also required. This research presents the design of an agricultural harvesting robot to assist elderly farmers and is suitable for Thailand's agricultural areas. It utilizes artificial intelligence concepts and the Internet of Things (IoT) with two objectives: 1) to alleviate the labor shortage for young farmers, providing a tool to assist older farmers; and 2) to serve as a guideline for sustainable agriculture in the future. This agricultural harvesting robot combines advanced technologies, such as machine learning to learn and control robot operations, applications to assist with movement and vision, artificial neural networks, and robotic control for harvesting, resulting in increased precision and increased efficiency. The robot's base is designed to adjust for movement on rough, uneven ground surfaces such as rice paddies, rice fields, ditches, and low, plateau areas to ensure consistent movement. Furthermore, the robot's arm is equipped with sensors to enable it to navigate and detect crops accurately and precisely. These functions make the robot more convenient for elderly farmers, allowing them to control and use the robot correctly and for its intended purpose. They do not need to be experts to use it. Experimental results indicate that agricultural harvesting robots can efficiently harvest longan, Langsat, and Lamberton, all types of agricultural fruits, by reducing steps and increasing yields.
Keywords: Harvesting robot; Elderly farmers; Internet of Things (IoT); Agricultural robot; Robot model
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