Field Robotics Power Systems

This book covers the development of a power system for an autonomous self-sufficient agricultural robot. The robotic system, designed for precision agriculture applications, was augmented with a new power system, to accommodate a solar energy source for recharging the batteries. The power system consists of a custom-made solar panel, a maximum power point tracker (MPPT), and power monitoring sensors. To increase the whole robotic system energy efficiency, the power system was programmed to monitor the intake and output, and to optimize its power usage accordingly. The robotic system was tested in field conditions, simulating the performance of useful tasks with its actuator. The tests were performed in order to demonstrate the improved run time of the system between manual battery recharges. This book presents the augmentation of the new robotic power system, the tests performed on the robotic system, the results of the performed tests, and a discussion of the results and possible improvements that can be made to the system.