Feeding and water monitoring robot in aquaculture greenhouse

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to develop a robotic system to feed aquatic organisms and measure water physicochemical parameters in experimental aquaculture ponds. Design/methodology/approach -A dispatcher unit dispenses a precise amount of food and control panel software schedules the tasks and operates the robot. In the control panel, the feeding and measuring schedule is defined and sent to the mobile robot and the amount of food is requested by the robot to the dispatcher for each pond. The robot travels automatically on a monorail to dispense the food and measure the water parameters. The data are transmitted to the control panel. The system can be remotely operated over the internet through a client-server software framework. Findings -The robotic system is a tool for delegating feeding and measuring tasks. This allows researchers and technicians time to focus on more substantive aquacultural research tasks. Research limitations/implications -Future improvement will include an automatic unit for cleaning sensors between ponds to minimize the risk of cross-contamination. Practical implications -The system systematized feeding and measuring tasks, minimized human error, and optimized the use of resources for aquacultural experimentation. The robotic system can be programmed for a variety of experimental conditions, such as the delivery of different diets at diverse schedules. Originality/value -The proposed robot was tested for feeding freshwater redclaw crayfish (Cherax quadricarinatus) and monitored the water parameters in real time. Based on the field results, the robotic system provided a reliable and robust device for aquacultural research applications.

From Smart Farming towards Unmanned Farms: A New Mode of Agricultural Production

“…At present, the development of robotic fish (for water quality monitoring/early warning; Figure 7) [101][102][103], USV (for fish density estimation and water quality monitoring; Figure 8) [104], and robots (for integrat- In fish pond or lake farming, the premise of scientific farming is to obtain key water related parameters, such as temperature, pH, DO level, oxidation-reduction potentiometer and electron conduction, quickly and in real time. At present, the development of robotic fish (for water quality monitoring/early warning; Figure 7) [101][102][103], USV (for fish density estimation and water quality monitoring; Figure 8) [104], and robots (for integrating feeding and water quality monitoring [105] has been initiated. The underwater mobile robot is a good equipment for fishing and observing underwater plants and animals.…”

Development status and trend of agricultural robot technology

“…In order to tackle these diseases, it is necessary to implement farm scientific technology for the monitoring of health to reduce production costs [31] . Today, wearable devices such as foot earrings [36] Feeding and water monitoring Four-wheel chassis Monorail, sonar Physicochemical sensors [37] and ear clips have been widely used in the health monitoring of animals and chickens. By contrast, integrating an automatic cow health measurement system into a milking robot is more feasible and low-cost in dairy [32,33] .…”

“…Compared with measurement equipment installed in fixed positions, the flexibility of the water quality detection robot has obvious advantages [36] . According to Table 3, the robot was designed by Huang et al used the BDS module for surface navigation and used the water quality detection module, to collect parameters such as the water temperature, pH value, and dissolved oxygen (DO) content of the freshwater aquaculture environment [37] . The robot developed by Fernando travels automatically on a monorail to dispense the food and measure the water parameters [35,37] .…”

“…According to Table 3, the robot was designed by Huang et al used the BDS module for surface navigation and used the water quality detection module, to collect parameters such as the water temperature, pH value, and dissolved oxygen (DO) content of the freshwater aquaculture environment [37] . The robot developed by Fernando travels automatically on a monorail to dispense the food and measure the water parameters [35,37] . Local and remote experiments were performed to show the usefulness of the robot operation via the Internet for intensive cultivation of the freshwater red claw crayfish [35] .…”

Feeding equipment

“…This is an automated feeding system in which one feeder is used on several tanks, with the feeder going from tank to tank without any human support (Lekang, 2013;Von Borstel et al, 2013). This is an automated feeding system in which one feeder is used on several tanks, with the feeder going from tank to tank without any human support (Lekang, 2013;Von Borstel et al, 2013).…”