PRE2018 3 Group16

Group members

Edwin Steenkamer	1006712
Sjir Schielen	1024154
Thijs Conner	1011148
Tobin van den Hurk	1009573
Tom Verberk	1016472

Subject

Problem statement:

The environmental challenges in Africa, which are increasing due to for example the consequences of global warming, are a real concern for the food production in this area. Independent and poor small-scale farmers and small villages living of agriculture across Africa may face an increased difficulty to sustain themselves. The lack of education and technology in these agricultural areas hinders the development of efficient food production. A low budget, self-providing, agricultural system which can identify the problems and help the farmers maximize their food production with the minimization of resources could help these farmers sustain themselves in the face of the challenges to come.

Objectives

The objective is to design a robot that satisfies the following requirements. The robot should help small-scale farmers to be self-providing and independent without negative consequences. Considering that funding is a difficult aspect, the robot has to be designed with a low budget. An optimization has to be found between maximizing food production and minimizing the required resources and costs.

Milestones

• Summarize at least 7 scientific articles each
• Current situation sketch
• Determine & discuss possibilities for improvement of current situation
• Cost analysis
• (Low-level) System design
• Example scenarios

Approach

For this project, an initial literature study is required. By exploring the subject in a top-down fashion, the main focus of the project can be adjusted. In other words, gathering information on the broad topic of farming in sub-optimal conditions in general, allows for the project to delve deeper into the aspects of farming deemed most important. Using this method instead of starting with a focus on a specific problem regarding farming, eliminates the threat of discovering this specific problem is not as interesting or important as expected. Another benefit of starting with an extensive research on the state-of-the-art, is that the amount of assumptions is expected to be limited. This allows for more grounded arguments and reasoning as to why certain aspects are deemed more important.

Deliverables

This project will ultimately consist of

• A literature study on automated farming
• In-depth analysis on yet to be specified topics, exploring their possibilities
• A design for automated farming in hot and arid conditions

Planning

The planning can be viewed by following this link.

Role division

The role division, or 'who will do what' section, is likely to change over time, because newly obtained knowledge can steer the project in a (slightly) different direction. As of now, the following role division is made. Edwin focuses on the state-of-the-art and the users requirements that the design should satisfy. Sjir does research on water management and livestock and specifies the requirements the design should satisfy with respect to water management and livestock. Thijs and Tobin do research on what measurements should be performed and how they should be performed. They also specify the requirements with respect to measurements and perform a cost analysis. Tom does research on and specifies design requirements on water management and irrigation. He also does a cost analysis.

A completer role division is listed in the planning. There is some overlap in the tasks that are carried out, which is done on purpose to create room for discussion on the requirements.