A 4-DOF SCARA Robotic Arm for Various Farm Applications: Designing, Kinematic Modelling, and Parameterization

The agriculture industry has faced various challenges nowadays. This research is the first part of a project that presents the designing process, kinematic modelling, and parameterization of a 4-DOF SCARA-type robotic arm specifically designed for work in an agricultural field in terms of seeding, watering, fertilizing, weeding, harvesting, and transporting. The designing of parameters, such as optimum degrees of freedom and component configuration, was done. The kinematic model was calculated using the Denavit-Hartenberg method. The structure of robot was developed for inertia reduction, smooth motion, and torque minimization. The results show that the working space, maximum front access, and side access of developed robotic arm were 11.4 m², 2.9 m, and 2.4 m, respectively. The results indicate that the robot has sufficient surface coverage for defined farm work.