China possesses 40 millionacres of tea fields, primarily located on sloped and hilly terrain. Thistopography significantly limits the mechanization of field management.Currently, the planting and harvesting of tea plants are predominantly carriedout manually, with the workforce mainly consisting of elderly individuals, asfew young people are inclined to undertake this labor-intensive job. In thenear future, this could result in a critical shortage of tea farmers.Agricultural robots present a viable substitute for human labor in tea farming,offering a promising solution to this impending challenge.
Agricultural robots haveseen significant advancements in recent years, providing a cost-effectivealternative to manual labor and enhancing productivity. Despite the broadapplicability of agricultural robots, most current designs are optimized foroperation on flat terrains. This poses a limitation for regions with complextopography, such as the tea mountains in China.
Sloped terrainsare challenging to model, Presently, there is no fully developed roboticplatform capable of self-navigation and operation on such complex terrain. Thetasks of planting and plucking are particularly strenuous for elderlyindividuals. According to information provided by our sponsor, approximately60\% of annual costs are attributed to labor. A viable tea field robot can savehard labor of the elder and save much cost.
Recognizing thisgap, our project aims to design and develop a robotic platform specifically fortea fields located on slopes. This innovation is a response to the practicaland economic needs of tea farmers in regions with challenging landscapes. Sinceagricultural robots designed for flat terrains are well-developed, it isunnecessary to redesign the end structures, such as the tea-plucking mechanism.Our focus will be on providing a robotic platform capable of climbing slopes,carrying payloads, and self-navigating.
