Development and simulation of the Feed Pusher Robot software and hardware system for the maintenance of the feed table at livestock facilities

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Analysis of trends in the development of industrial technologies in the field of agriculture showed that manufacturers of technological equipment used on farms turn to robotics to exclude human labor when performing labor-intensive cyclical operations that are accompanied by a high degree of tension. To perform operations for the preparation and distribution of feed on a farm, maintenance of the feed table, as well as for manure harvesting, it is necessary to use a wheeled robotic platform with an automatic positioning system.
 AIMS: Development and testing of the software and hardware system of the Feed Pusher robot for the autonomous execution of operations for the maintenance of the feed table at livestock facilities.
 METHODS: Wheeled robot motion simulation, as well as a mathematical description of the kinematic and dynamic properties of the wheeled robot motion was carried out using the MATLAB software and the Simscape library and the Simulink application. The Figma graphic design software was used to develop layouts of mobile software interfaces for the wheeled robot remote control.
 RESULTS: During the wheeled robot motion simulation, direct and inverse kinematics problems were solved, consisting in finding theω1,ω2, vectors with the input parameters x0,y0,φ0,x,y,φ, as well as the final angle of the path (relative to the horizontal). Layouts of the robot remote control software interfaces have been developed, as well as the frontend and backend development of the program adapted to the use at a smartphone has been carried out. The testing of the wheeled robot was carried out at a livestock facility, during the maintenance of the feed table and the simultaneous execution of operations to push the feed to the fence and dosing of feed additives.
 CONCLUSIONS: The practical value of the research lies in the possibility of using the results of the wheeled robot motion simulation to adjust the operation of the automatic positioning system. At the same time, the farmer using the proposed Feed Pusher robot will ensure an increase in the technological efficiency of cattle keeping, in particular dairy cattle, with an increase in milk yields up to 1 liter per day per head, which was determined during the tests on the farm.