Conceptual directions for the development of driverless agricultural mobile power units
Authors: Starostin Ivan A. , Eshchin Aleksandr V. , Godzhaev Teimur Z. , Davydova Svetlana A. 
Published: April 2024

BACKGROUND: Currently, major global developers and manufacturers in the field of mobile agricultural machinery are working on the development of agricultural robotic systems. Particular attention is paid to the development of universal driverless mobile power units (MPU) capable of performing various technological operations autonomously, without human intervention. In the future, this makes it possible to exclude the operator from the MPU control process and to reconsider approaches to the issue of increasing the efficiency of technological operations. The existing trend of productivity improvement by increasing the main parameters of the unit, such as operating width, operating velocities, load capacity, etc., may change to an alternative path consisting in the use of numerous autonomous small-sized units comparable in performance (a swarm of agricultural robots). Thus, the use of driverless control systems makes it possible to use conceptually new approaches to the development of agricultural MPUs. In this regard, it becomes relevant to conduct the study aimed at identifying promising conceptual directions for the development of driverless MPUs and evaluating the efficiency of their application.
AIM: Identification of conceptual directions for the development of driverless driverless MPUs and a theoretical assessment of the efficiency of their application.
METHODS: The study object was the MPU transformation in the context of the development of driverless control systems. The study was based on scientific publications on the development of robotic agricultural tools, informational data of manufacturers of agricultural tractors and control systems for agricultural machinery. In the course of the study, such methods as information analysis, synthesis, methods of performance analysis of agricultural units and analysis of present cost of performing technological operations, adapted for driverless MPUs by the VIM, were used.
RESULTS: The prospects for the introduction of driverless MPUs, the existing digital and intelligent control systems of MPUs and the main factors hindering their development are analyzed. A classification of agricultural MPUs according to automation levels is proposed. The main directions of development are identified and conceptual models of driverless MPUs are proposed: universal driverless MPUs (driverless tractors) with keeping the existing traction class and power classification, universal (multifunctional) low-power driverless MPUs of the only traction class, separate power modules capable of being combined into a single driverless unit based on the coupled agricultural machine. The method is proposed and the equivalent number of driverless MPUs of each conceptual model for each traction class is calculated. An assessment of the impact of the use of the proposed conceptual models of driverless MPUs on the arable unit performance and the present cost of arable operations has been carried out.
CONCLUSIONS: Conceptual models for the advancing of driverless MPUs have been developed and comparative calculations of the efficiency of their application as part of arable units, helping to assess the possible prospects for their use, have been made.