System for soil mapping properties
to zone using soil electrical conductivity sensors ( Aimrun et al ., 2007 ). Hence only the right amount of fertilizer would be applied ( Shamsi et al ., 2018 ). This will save cost and when applied at the right time will also ensure minimal runoff that ends up in rivers . Overall , the technology can be viewed from two different farming approaches , namely the open farm system and structured-closed environment system .
Open Farm System The open farm system is the conventional method of agricultural practice , where crops are planted on the land . Typically , the size of the land sets the limit of planting density , where the higher the density the better . In pineapple farms for example , an acre of land could fit over 15,000 plants . Significant mechanisation in open farms is marked by the application of tractor for soil tillage and harvesting which can be completed in hours rather than days for vast areas . However , the machine is still operated by a person . Bashiri and Mann ( 2014 ) showed that human operators have limits , for example fatigue leads to performance degradation even on a semi-autonomous vehicle .
In the search for maximum performance , numerous research studies dedicated to removing the human element on the tractor have been carried out . One of the early efforts was done by Billingsley and Schoenfisch ( 1997 ) where a vision guidance system was developed and tested on six prototypes by actual farmers . The system was able to follow a straight row with an accuracy of 2cm .
In Malaysia a similar development on an autonomous tractor was reported by Ismail et al ., ( 2012 ). In this instance a commercial Kubota L3010 tractor employed heavily modified steering , gearing , ignition and acceleration systems .
In recent years , the development of driverless tractors is getting close to commercialisation . Technologies such as the Global Navigation Satellite System ( GNSS ), Geographical Information System ( GIS ), weather tracking and satellite imagery have enabled driverless tractors that can be operated remotely using apps and smart devices . Major tractor manufacturers such as John Deere and Case IH have begun showcasing their autonomous tractor models . Although these are not yet commercialised , they set the direction of what future tractors might look like .
Meanwhile significant development in unmanned aerial vehicles ( UAVs ) has resulted
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