A fuzzy logic algorithm derived mechatronic concept prototype for crop damage avoidance during eco-friendly eradication of intra-row weeds

Abstract Crop damage during the intra-row weed eradiation is one of the biggest challenges in intercultural agricultural operations. Several available mechanical systems provide effective weeding but result in excess crop damage. On the other hand, chemical based systems have been raising serious environmental and food concerns. This study presents development of a cost-effective mechatronic prototype for intra-row weeding operation. The primary focus was on incurring minimal crop damage. The system integrates time of flight and inductive sensing into fuzzy logic algorithm for electronic control of a four-bar linkage mechanism (FBLM). The crank of FBLM was connected to the vertical rotary weed control shaft with weeding blades. The crop sensing triggers the electronic control to laterally shift the control shaft away from crop, proportional to the forward speed and soil conditions. The developed algorithm incorporates varied conditions of soil, forward speed, and plant spacing to calculate dynamic lateral shift speed (SRPM). The prototype was evaluated to determine the relationships between the operating conditions and electronic control parameters. Moreover, the plant damage was assessed under varied conditions of plant spacing, forward speeds, soil cone index, operational depth and electronic control parameters. The derived SRPM was established as the ultimate governing factor for avoiding crop damage that varied significantly with electronic response time and soil strength (P  65%) and crop damage (