There are activities in viticulture and mariculture that require extreme physical endurance from human workers, making them prime candidates for automation and robotization. This paper presents a novel, practical, heterogeneous, autonomous robotic system divided into two main parts, each dealing with respective scenarios in viticulture and mariculture. The robotic components and the subsystems that enable collaboration were developed as part of the ongoing HEKTOR project, and each specific scenario is presented. In viticulture, this includes vineyard surveillance, spraying and suckering with an all-terrain mobile manipulator (ATMM) and a lightweight autonomous aerial robot (LAAR) that can be used in very steep vineyards where other mechanization fails. In mariculture, scenarios include coordinated aerial and subsurface monitoring of fish net pens using the LAAR, an autonomous surface vehicle (ASV), and a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV). All robotic components communicate and coordinate their actions through the Robot Operating System (ROS). Field tests demonstrate the great capabilities of the HEKTOR system for the fully autonomous execution of very strenuous and hazardous work in viticulture and mariculture, while meeting the necessary conditions for the required quality and quantity of the work performed.

This paper presents the overview and preliminary results of the HEKTOR - Heterogeneous Autonomous Robotic System in Viticulture and Mariculture project. HEKTOR is divided into two main parts, each dealing with specific scenarios in viticulture and mariculture. The robots used in the project and each specific scenario considered are presented. In viticulture, this includes vineyard surveillance, spraying and bud rubbing using an all-terrain mobile manipulator and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). In mariculture, scenarios include coordinated monitoring of fish net cages from below the surface and from the air, using the UAV, an unmanned surface vehicle (USV) and a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV).

A heterogeneous robotic system that can perform various tasks in the steep vineyards of the Mediterranean region was developed and tested as part of the HEKTOR—Heterogeneous Autonomous Robotic System in Viticulture and Mariculture—project. This article describes the design of hardware and an easy-to-use method for evaluating the energy consumption of the system, as well as, indirectly, its deployment readiness level. The heterogeneous robotic system itself consisted of a flying robot—a light autonomous aerial robot (LAAR)—and a ground robot—an all-terrain mobile manipulator (ATMM), composed of an all-terrain mobile robot (ATMR) platform and a seven-degree-of-freedom (DoF) torque-controlled robotic arm. A formal approach to describe the topology and parameters of selected vineyards is presented. It is shown how Google Earth data can be used to make an initial estimation of energy consumption for a selected vineyard. On this basis, estimates of energy consumption were made for the tasks of protective spraying and bud rubbing. The experiments were conducted in two different vineyards, one with a moderate slope and the other with a much steeper slope, to evaluate the proposed estimation method.

This paper explores potential applications of an autonomous all-terrain mobile manipulator (AMM) in the agricultural vineyard environment. A robotic arm mounted on a mobile base performs a spraying task while moving past vines and a bud rubbing task while stopping next to vines. We discuss the challenges of AMM navigation when performing tasks in steep vineyard terrain. The presented navigation approach is based on the use of a heterogeneous robotic system consisting of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and AMM. The navigation information provided by the UAV gives the waypoints for the AMM. We also present preliminary results from navigation simulation, based on digital elevation model (DEM). The model uses real-world data, acquired by UAV photogrammetric measurement campaign. We conclude by highlighting some open problems and related future research directions.