Periodic Reporting for period 1 - WeLASER (SUSTAINABLE WEED MANAGEMENT IN AGRICULTURE WITH LASER-BASED AUTONOMOUS TOOLS)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2020-10-01 do 2022-03-31
A global population demands greater food production, which requires increasing the use of pesticides and fertilizers. As such, approximately 130 million tons of herbicides per year must be used in Europe alone, which is an environmental issue because herbicides persist in the environment and destroy nontarget plants and insects that are beneficial for the soil.
There are also social implications of using herbicides because of their harmful effects on animals and humans, including cancer, birth defects and endocrine disruption. The EU, which is concerned about these effects, is promoting a sharp decrease in the use of herbicides by increasing their application efficiencies and by looking for efficient alternative solutions. This EU initiative raises the question, why are we not avoiding the use of herbicides instead of reducing them?
The WeLASER project focuses on developing a weed management system based on applying lethal doses of energy to the weed meristems or other impact points using 1) a high-power laser source, 2) an artificial intelligence vision system, 3) a laser scanner and 4) an autonomous vehicle to carry these systems throughout the field based on smart navigation techniques, IoT (Internet of Things) and cloud-computing techniques to manage the mission.
The proposed technical solution is complemented with a strategy for involving all of the actors in the value chain at the consortium decision-making level. In addition, communication, dissemination and exploitation activities were planned to ensure that society, academia and industry were properly informed of the project's impact.
There are also social implications of using herbicides because of their harmful effects on animals and humans, including cancer, birth defects and endocrine disruption. The EU, which is concerned about these effects, is promoting a sharp decrease in the use of herbicides by increasing their application efficiencies and by looking for efficient alternative solutions. This EU initiative raises the question, why are we not avoiding the use of herbicides instead of reducing them?
The WeLASER project focuses on developing a weed management system based on applying lethal doses of energy to the weed meristems or other impact points using 1) a high-power laser source, 2) an artificial intelligence vision system, 3) a laser scanner and 4) an autonomous vehicle to carry these systems throughout the field based on smart navigation techniques, IoT (Internet of Things) and cloud-computing techniques to manage the mission.
The proposed technical solution is complemented with a strategy for involving all of the actors in the value chain at the consortium decision-making level. In addition, communication, dissemination and exploitation activities were planned to ensure that society, academia and industry were properly informed of the project's impact.
The activities carried out during the first reporting period started with the development of the Multi-actor Approach strategy and the statement of the system specifications. Around month 3, the consortium started the development of the subsystems defined in the previous paragraph. In parallel with those developments, activities focus on the communication, dissemination and exploitation aspects, ethical issues and management and coordination were carried out. In particular,
Activities devoted to the Multi-Actor Approach were focused on identifying and engaging stakeholders to help the consortium optimize the weeding system and focus on the exploitation and commercial strategies. The following activities were carried out:
- Three Stakeholder Events in which more than 40 stakeholders provided contributions to the implementation of the WeLASER system.
- Four Focus Group Interviews (FGI) that included approximately 10 experts each and were held during the reporting period (international FGI; FGIs in Poland, Belgium/The Netherlands and Spain).
Regarding the “Laser-based weeding system”, the development of the high-power laser source (500 W) and the targeting system (scanner) were started. The activity was complemented by an experimental study of the impact of laser doses on living organisms. We obtained the first preliminary results on the laser efficiency as a weed eradicator. Prototypes of the laser source and the weeding system were integrated with the other subsystems in the preintegration activities.
The development of the AI-based weed-meristem perception system was based on AI-vision techniques, which categorizes weed plants and can identify weed meristem positions. The hardware for the vision system was defined, and some AI-based methods were investigated to recognize specific plants.
The “Autonomous vehicle for laser weeding” comprises a commercial agricultural robot capable of carrying all the subsystems on board, which is being adapted to comply with the power demanded by the laser source. This system was complemented with a smart navigation manager in charge of providing vehicle motion control and coordinating the actions among the subsystems on board, interacting with the network of IoT sensors and devices, and communicating with the cloud for exchanging information.
An important activity was devoted to ensure the system’s industrial integration and subsystem/system validation. During the first 3 months, this activity was focused on the definition of the system characteristics and specifications in close cooperation with the stakeholders. Around the middle of the project, the activities for performing the preliminary system integration were carried out.
Concerning communication and dissemination activities, they started by issuing a press release with an impact on many online publications. Accounts on social channels and platforms were created, and short messages and news related to the project were distributed.
An essential activity for dissemination was the consortium's adherence to the H2020 Open Research Data Pilot convention; therefore, a Data Management Plan was released in month 6 and updated in month 18.
The activities related to the Plan for the Exploitation of Results produced 2 studies devoted to 1) finding opportunities and risks of the WeLASER system and 2) carrying out a preliminary analysis of potential competitors.
To be consistent with the ethical issues, the consortium worked out the protection of personal data and health and environmental protection by defining the procedures and criteria to identify/recruit participants and avoid damage to the environment and guarantee the safety of participants in the project activities.
Activities devoted to the Multi-Actor Approach were focused on identifying and engaging stakeholders to help the consortium optimize the weeding system and focus on the exploitation and commercial strategies. The following activities were carried out:
- Three Stakeholder Events in which more than 40 stakeholders provided contributions to the implementation of the WeLASER system.
- Four Focus Group Interviews (FGI) that included approximately 10 experts each and were held during the reporting period (international FGI; FGIs in Poland, Belgium/The Netherlands and Spain).
Regarding the “Laser-based weeding system”, the development of the high-power laser source (500 W) and the targeting system (scanner) were started. The activity was complemented by an experimental study of the impact of laser doses on living organisms. We obtained the first preliminary results on the laser efficiency as a weed eradicator. Prototypes of the laser source and the weeding system were integrated with the other subsystems in the preintegration activities.
The development of the AI-based weed-meristem perception system was based on AI-vision techniques, which categorizes weed plants and can identify weed meristem positions. The hardware for the vision system was defined, and some AI-based methods were investigated to recognize specific plants.
The “Autonomous vehicle for laser weeding” comprises a commercial agricultural robot capable of carrying all the subsystems on board, which is being adapted to comply with the power demanded by the laser source. This system was complemented with a smart navigation manager in charge of providing vehicle motion control and coordinating the actions among the subsystems on board, interacting with the network of IoT sensors and devices, and communicating with the cloud for exchanging information.
An important activity was devoted to ensure the system’s industrial integration and subsystem/system validation. During the first 3 months, this activity was focused on the definition of the system characteristics and specifications in close cooperation with the stakeholders. Around the middle of the project, the activities for performing the preliminary system integration were carried out.
Concerning communication and dissemination activities, they started by issuing a press release with an impact on many online publications. Accounts on social channels and platforms were created, and short messages and news related to the project were distributed.
An essential activity for dissemination was the consortium's adherence to the H2020 Open Research Data Pilot convention; therefore, a Data Management Plan was released in month 6 and updated in month 18.
The activities related to the Plan for the Exploitation of Results produced 2 studies devoted to 1) finding opportunities and risks of the WeLASER system and 2) carrying out a preliminary analysis of potential competitors.
To be consistent with the ethical issues, the consortium worked out the protection of personal data and health and environmental protection by defining the procedures and criteria to identify/recruit participants and avoid damage to the environment and guarantee the safety of participants in the project activities.
The expected project results and their impacts are summarized as follows:
- Laser Source: It is expected to achieve a maximum peak power of up to 500 W with a pulse length between 0.2 ms-10 ms. This source should thermally destroy at least 90% of the weeds irradiated.
- AI perception system: A robust neural network to distinguish at least 90% of the individual plants and identify at least 90% of the weed meristems.
- Targeting system: A new concept, improved over previous trials of weed treatments, will direct the laser source onto at least 90% of the meristems of the detected weeds.
- Autonomous robot: Based on a commercial mobile platform, the power supply was upgraded to produce the requested energy, and the mechanism was redesigned to integrate the systems on board. WeLASER will configure an autonomous robot based on smart navigation algorithms, IoT and cloud computing techniques to optimize the process.
- Minimum impact: Achievement of a minimum impact of precision weeding equipment on crops (10% increase in productivity), the environment (reduction of soil compaction) and health (reduction of 30-50% of pollutants).
- Economic and social impact: Enabling positive economic and social impact by creating new jobs and businesses and enabling smarter methods for farmers.
In this reporting period, an analysis of the market for the innovative weed control application developed in this project was carried out. The consortium produced two studies for the market analysis, namely, 1) PESTEL analysis and 2) preliminary competitive analysis. The PESTEL analysis report constitutes a comprehensive view of six main factors that affect the prospect of the WeLASER application, namely, political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal factors. In the preliminary competitive analysis, we assessed the potential of the WeLASER application in comparison to its indirect and direct competitors. These two reports correspond to the first steps of the exploitation plan, where market research is the key to identifying the efficient pathway for the implementation of the WeLASER innovation.
- Laser Source: It is expected to achieve a maximum peak power of up to 500 W with a pulse length between 0.2 ms-10 ms. This source should thermally destroy at least 90% of the weeds irradiated.
- AI perception system: A robust neural network to distinguish at least 90% of the individual plants and identify at least 90% of the weed meristems.
- Targeting system: A new concept, improved over previous trials of weed treatments, will direct the laser source onto at least 90% of the meristems of the detected weeds.
- Autonomous robot: Based on a commercial mobile platform, the power supply was upgraded to produce the requested energy, and the mechanism was redesigned to integrate the systems on board. WeLASER will configure an autonomous robot based on smart navigation algorithms, IoT and cloud computing techniques to optimize the process.
- Minimum impact: Achievement of a minimum impact of precision weeding equipment on crops (10% increase in productivity), the environment (reduction of soil compaction) and health (reduction of 30-50% of pollutants).
- Economic and social impact: Enabling positive economic and social impact by creating new jobs and businesses and enabling smarter methods for farmers.
In this reporting period, an analysis of the market for the innovative weed control application developed in this project was carried out. The consortium produced two studies for the market analysis, namely, 1) PESTEL analysis and 2) preliminary competitive analysis. The PESTEL analysis report constitutes a comprehensive view of six main factors that affect the prospect of the WeLASER application, namely, political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal factors. In the preliminary competitive analysis, we assessed the potential of the WeLASER application in comparison to its indirect and direct competitors. These two reports correspond to the first steps of the exploitation plan, where market research is the key to identifying the efficient pathway for the implementation of the WeLASER innovation.