Soil Conditioner Robot: Student Invention

Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi’s Agricultural Engineering majors came up with an innovation “Soil Conditioner Robot” for assessing and conditioning soil before automatically planting seeds. This robot helps to improve both labor and time efficiency.

This prototype robot is consisted of a light-weight aluminum structure, a soil assessment component (with NPK censor), control system, and soil conditioner dispenser, said Jaturong Kitisak, fourth-year student and a team member.

“The robot is simple to operate. Before using it, check to see that it’s ready to be used and fill up the two conditioner tanks. Then, place the robot over the plowed rows that need to be conditioned and set the values for soil assessment. The robot will work automatically, going through the process of assessing the soil, analyzing the data, and dispensing the conditioner solution, in order to prepare the soil for planting seeds,” said Jaturong.

The control system will automatically command the robot to assess the soil condition every 0.50 meters. With a simple mechanism, users can easily and safely use the robot. Maintenance is also convenient. Every part can be taken apart and replaced when broken. The parts can be sourced from the market. Most importantly, the robot helps to reduce the manpower required to prepare the soil. One robot needs only one operator and can be used in an unlimited area of land.