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Paper by Ali Roshanianfard

The creep test is an important mechanical test used to measure the mechanical properties of mater... more The creep test is an important mechanical test used to measure the mechanical properties of materials, especially agricultural viscoelastic products. Unsuitable creep testing methodology and subsequent inaccurate outputs can have severe negative consequences on the agricultural product preservation. The aim of this study was to develop a
novel improved creep testing device for viscoelastic materials at room temperature, especially agricultural crops. The performance of methodology against four alternative loading methods (Cycloidal, Cubic, Cosine, and Quintic) was compared. The results showed no significant differences between the generated data and alternative approaches. Some experiments were accomplished to performance evaluation, on Agria potato using stress of 110 kgf at 20°C with five replications and
also to compare test results with past developed devices by the stress of 24.4 and 58.8 kgf at 22°C with three replications. The results showed no significant differences between the developed device (ACTeD-1) data and the standard devices. Loading with Cosine-Cubic method was more applicable because it could control the impulse effects at the first moments of loading and reached the performed force with minimum damage in the material structure.

The objective of this research was to determine the Nomoto model maneuverability indices of an ag... more The objective of this research was to determine the Nomoto model maneuverability indices of an agricultural unmanned airboat which was developed to perform autonomous weeding and paddy growth monitoring in a paddy field. A global positioning system compass and an inertial measurement unit were attached on the airboat body to record the position, heading and angular rate. The zigzag experiments were adopted to obtain the maneuverability indices. The Matlab-based maneuvering simulations were conducted and compared with field experimental data of circular motion test and sinusoidal running test, respectively. The results showed that the trace error was at sub-meter level, which expounds the validity of the obtained maneuvering indices. The proposed Nomoto model maneuverability indices can be used to improve the airboat precise automatic control in paddy field.

Robotics can play a significant role to increase efficiency and lighten the farmer’s load. Despit... more Robotics can play a significant role to increase efficiency and lighten the farmer’s load. Despite challenges in the agricultural robotic designs, robots are capable of performing various tasks and changing themselves accordingly, based on specific conditions. To address modern problems in the agricultural field, an agricultural robot is one of the key technologies. Although agricultural robotic is still in the development stage, robots have a bright future ahead. This paper proposes a new 5DOF articulated robotic arm design that would become a solution for heavy crop harvesting like pumpkin and cabbage. After the development stage, this robot arm will be mounted on a robot tractor for real experimentation.

Mushroom production is one of the biggest solid state fermentation industries in the world. The s... more Mushroom production is one of the biggest solid state fermentation industries in the world. The success in mushroom planting depends on how the control temperature, humidity and CO 2 parameters. This paper presents a novel method for modeling an environment of mushrooms growth to comparing the performance of two controlling methods (fuzzy logic and digital (ON/OFF) control) for controlling mentioned parameters on production rate. The Controllers and other equipment were developed to data collection and analysis of these parameters was performed by using Simulink part of MATLAB software. Precise control of the parameters involved in the growth of mushrooms caused to improve product quality and reduced energy consumption. The results of tests and mean value obtained on two different methods showed that the fuzzy controlling with having least standard deviation, variance and error, is better than digital controlling. Fuzzy controlling system had the lowest fluctuation and lowest band pass. According to gradient of graph, maximum and minimum of results, can conclude that the fuzzy controlling has shown better response in controlling the process. Based on the number of actuators mode changing on both systems, it can be understood that in digital control system, downtime, and depreciation and energy consumption would be higher than the fuzzy control system.

Robotics‎ can‎ play‎ a‎ significant‎ role‎ to‎ increase‎ efficiency‎ and‎ lighten‎ the‎ farmer's‎... more Robotics‎ can‎ play‎ a‎ significant‎ role‎ to‎ increase‎ efficiency‎ and‎ lighten‎ the‎ farmer's‎ load.‎ Despite‎ challenges in the agricultural robotic designs, robots are capable of performing various tasks and changing themselves accordingly, based on specific conditions. To address modern problems in the agricultural field, an agricultural robot is one of the key technologies. Although agricultural robotic is still in the development stage, these particular robots have a bright future ahead. This paper proposes a new 5DOF articulated robotic arm design that would become a solution for heavy crop harvesting like pumpkin and cabbage ‎ ‎. The main design process of the device was conceived using 6 stages of Shigley design process. All components were designed, assembled and analyzed by using Solidworks 2014 in compliance with JIS standards. The parts of the system that had dynamic nature were analyzed manually using standard mechanical formulas. Calculations of the workspace, required joint torque, and coordination of mass center position were developed using standard machine design methods. Denavit-Hartenberg method was used to calculate forward and reverse kinematics. To resolve the torque reduction, components were designed by different material and mass center and were compared together. Results showed that total torque in Joints number 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 were 6.15, 257.35, 103.4, 20.2 and 0.1 í µí°í µí°. í µí°¦í µí°¦ respectively with a rotational speed range of 15 ~ 60 rpm. Changes in the linkage material and servo motor location improved 29.7% ~ 47.7% and 29.7% ~68.9% of the total required torque for each joint. The maximum distance covered by the arm was 1640 mm from the í µí°í µí° í µí¿í µí¿ and 1830 mm from the attachment point. According to the feedback received from a reverse kinematics equation algorithm, the fundamental operation of the robot arm had an optimal performance.

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The Japanese robotic technology has been known as a pioneer to solve agricultural future concerns... more The Japanese robotic technology has been known as a pioneer to solve agricultural future concerns. The agriculture industry of Japan not only faces numerous natural disasters that affect the farmer's life, but also the farmer aging and farming labor shortage issues have significant effects on the output crops quantity. The unwillingness of farm workers to work with heavyweight crops like pumpkin and watermelon is one of the undesirable impacts of these issues. The numbers these farms keep deceasing, whereas these products are highly valued in the Japanese market basket. The robotic technology has shown capabilities to solve these problems. The purpose of this study was to create a unique robotic methodology to harvest heavyweight crops in the field. In this study, the designing and simulation procedure of a 2 DOF robotic end-effector for pumpkin is presented. This end effector consists of 5 special designed fingers based on physical properties of popular Japanese pumpkins. Each finger was equipped with two digital touch sensors to detect pumpkin, two micro switches for an emergency situation, and two blades for culling the stem. One AC servo motor could handle harvesting needed motions by using a unique pattern. The applied forces on the pumpkin were controlled based on the feedback torque data into PLC system. The harvesting methodology included: grasping, lifting, stem cutting and transporting. The experiments results show that the lifting force was 26.3% of pumpkin weight force. The range of end-effector supporting volume and mass payload was 15×〖10〗^5 to3.8×〖10〗^5 〖mm〗^3, and 1.32 to 6 kg respectively. The compression test results indicated that the average stress and strain on Kabucha squash / Hubbard squash were 110.15 kPa and 0.38 respectively. Based on the presented designing outputs, the development of an end effector for other heavyweight crops is desirable.

The agriculture industry in Japan has felt the impact of aging farmers, depopulation, and new gen... more The agriculture industry in Japan has felt the impact of aging farmers, depopulation, and new generation attitude alteration more than other industries. This transmutation has affected the number of farmer working with heavyweight crops harvestings such as pumpkin, watermelon, melon, and cabbage. For a country like Japan where the average age of farmers is 65 years old, farm labor in such fields is an overwhelming job. Using robotic technologies can assist to improve the agricultural problems in developed countries. In this study, a developed robotic system for heavyweight crops harvesting (HCRH) is presented. The aim of this study was developing an automatic harvesting system to improve the Japanese farmers work. The HCRH system consists of five main units including an automatic robot tractor, 5 DOF robotic arm, specially designed end-effector, vision system, and main controlling units. Each unit has been composed of several subunits. Automatic maneuver in the field by using RTK-GPS, crops detection by using image processing, crops grasping, harvesting and transporting, were some applications of HCRHS system. The experimentations results show that this system has the capability to harvest crops above 25 kg as a mobile platform. The workspace volume, front cover area, and height access of actuating unit was 8.27 m^3, 3.52 m^2 and 2.02 m respectively, that have to improve to 12.7 m^3, 6 m^2 and 3.2 m in future designs. The function speed of robotic arm, harvesting method and motion accuracy of end effector was adjustable based on the type of crop and environmental condition. Hopefully in the near future, the HCRHS system will be improve the Japanese farmer’s work to harvest heavyweight crops as well as other agricultural activities in world.