Benchmarking Controllers for Low-Cost Agricultural SCARA Manipulators
Agriculture needs to produce more with fewer resources to satisfy the world’s demands. Labor shortages, especially during harvest seasons, emphasize the need for agricultural automation. However, the high cost of commercially available robotic manipulators, ranging from EUR 3000 to EUR 500,000, is a...
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| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Sensors |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/9/2676 |
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| author | Vítor Tinoco Manuel F. Silva Filipe Neves dos Santos Raul Morais |
| author_facet | Vítor Tinoco Manuel F. Silva Filipe Neves dos Santos Raul Morais |
| author_sort | Vítor Tinoco |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Agriculture needs to produce more with fewer resources to satisfy the world’s demands. Labor shortages, especially during harvest seasons, emphasize the need for agricultural automation. However, the high cost of commercially available robotic manipulators, ranging from EUR 3000 to EUR 500,000, is a significant barrier. This research addresses the challenges posed by low-cost manipulators, such as inaccuracy, limited sensor feedback, and dynamic uncertainties. Three control strategies for a low-cost agricultural SCARA manipulator were developed and benchmarked: a Sliding Mode Controller (SMC), a Reinforcement Learning (RL) Controller, and a novel Proportional-Integral (PI) controller with a self-tuning feedforward element (PIFF). The results show the best response time was obtained using the SMC, but with joint movement jitter. The RL controller showed sudden breaks and overshot upon reaching the setpoint. Finally, the PIFF controller showed the smoothest reference tracking but was more susceptible to changes in system dynamics. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-010b75487e124ed080da4c448035a05e |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj-art-010b75487e124ed080da4c448035a05e2025-08-20T02:31:08ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202025-04-01259267610.3390/s25092676Benchmarking Controllers for Low-Cost Agricultural SCARA ManipulatorsVítor Tinoco0Manuel F. Silva1Filipe Neves dos Santos2Raul Morais3INESC TEC—Institute for Systems and Computer Engineering, Technology and Science, 4200-465 Porto, PortugalINESC TEC—Institute for Systems and Computer Engineering, Technology and Science, 4200-465 Porto, PortugalINESC TEC—Institute for Systems and Computer Engineering, Technology and Science, 4200-465 Porto, PortugalINESC TEC—Institute for Systems and Computer Engineering, Technology and Science, 4200-465 Porto, PortugalAgriculture needs to produce more with fewer resources to satisfy the world’s demands. Labor shortages, especially during harvest seasons, emphasize the need for agricultural automation. However, the high cost of commercially available robotic manipulators, ranging from EUR 3000 to EUR 500,000, is a significant barrier. This research addresses the challenges posed by low-cost manipulators, such as inaccuracy, limited sensor feedback, and dynamic uncertainties. Three control strategies for a low-cost agricultural SCARA manipulator were developed and benchmarked: a Sliding Mode Controller (SMC), a Reinforcement Learning (RL) Controller, and a novel Proportional-Integral (PI) controller with a self-tuning feedforward element (PIFF). The results show the best response time was obtained using the SMC, but with joint movement jitter. The RL controller showed sudden breaks and overshot upon reaching the setpoint. Finally, the PIFF controller showed the smoothest reference tracking but was more susceptible to changes in system dynamics.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/9/2676sliding mode controlreinforcement learningPI controlmanipulatoragricultural manipulator |
| spellingShingle | Vítor Tinoco Manuel F. Silva Filipe Neves dos Santos Raul Morais Benchmarking Controllers for Low-Cost Agricultural SCARA Manipulators Sensors sliding mode control reinforcement learning PI control manipulator agricultural manipulator |
| title | Benchmarking Controllers for Low-Cost Agricultural SCARA Manipulators |
| title_full | Benchmarking Controllers for Low-Cost Agricultural SCARA Manipulators |
| title_fullStr | Benchmarking Controllers for Low-Cost Agricultural SCARA Manipulators |
| title_full_unstemmed | Benchmarking Controllers for Low-Cost Agricultural SCARA Manipulators |
| title_short | Benchmarking Controllers for Low-Cost Agricultural SCARA Manipulators |
| title_sort | benchmarking controllers for low cost agricultural scara manipulators |
| topic | sliding mode control reinforcement learning PI control manipulator agricultural manipulator |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/9/2676 |
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