IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Technical Committee on Agricultural Robotics and Automation [TC Spotlight

Abstract

The IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Technical Committee (TC) on Agricultural Robotics and Automation was launched in 2012 with the goal of bringing together researchers and practitioners, academic and industrial, in an informal setting to increase knowledge dissemination in the field. The goal for 2013 is to hold at least eight Webinars and for 2014 to hold one every month. The TC members are rewriting the Handbook of Robotics chapter on Agricultural and Forestry Robotics and wrote an invited chapter on Agricultural Robotics on an SAE book on autonomous vehicles. Beyond endowing machines and vehicles with higher levels of intelligence, two long-term challenges, such as humanlike manipulation of crops and harvesting robots, must be addressed before R&A makes a full incursion into agriculture. Membership in the TC is open to all interested in contributing to the exciting field of agricultural robotics and automation.