Lawnmower requirement

As mentionned above, the idea of the gribot project is to create a platform, both software and hardware, allowing to decline several agricultural robots. The first projet is a lawnmower robot for the maintenance of grass cover in fruit crops.

The Gribot lawnmower specifications are the following:

1. The robot should not exceed 60cm in width, in order to easily slip between fruit trees or vines.
2. The height of the robot should not exceed 30 to 40 cm in order to be able to slip under fruit trees or vines.
3. The robot should be able to maintain 20,000 m 2 (2Ha).
4. The robot's working surface must under no circumstances be made by burying a wire, as is done for lawn care robots. An electronic means, such as GNSS or other positioning system, will always be preferable.
5. The robot must be able to move easily on irregular surfaces that may have holes about ten centime- ters deep.
6. The robot must be able to overcome obstacles of at least 10 cm in height.
7. The robot should have an autonomy of at least 4 hours.
8. The robot must be able to detect obstacles and calculate its trajectory in order to avoid them.
9. The robot must implement a strategy to optimize its work in order to save its battery. A completely random trajectory is strongly discouraged.
10. The robot must be able to climb slopes of 45°.
11. Users and animals must not be allowed to come into contact with moving parts of the robot. For example, it is possible to detect a presence in the robot environment and to stop any moving parts.
12. The robot must stop when someone approaches too close.
13. Cutting elements (e.g. mower knives) must stop if the machine tilts too much.
14. The machine must stop completely and go into alarm if it overturns.
15. The machine must stop completely and go into alarm if it is blocked.
16. The robot must be able to be controlled remotely, for example by means of a mobile terminal (smart phone).
17. The robot must be protected against unauthorized remote access.
18. Robot ownership must be tracked: if the owner sell his robot to someone else, a mechanism has to be put in place to track this transaction. All access right and ownership parameters have to be transmitted to the new owner.
19. The robot must be able to be remotely activated or deactivated.
20. The robot alarms must be transmitted to the mobile control terminal.
21. The work surface and the zones to be avoided must be easily and if possible remotely configured, for example by drawing on a map.
22. The robot must have a charging station.
23. The robot must be able to return to its charging station by itself when its battery is discharged. The order of return to the charging station must take into account the battery capacity and the energy required for the return journey.
24. When the robot is connected to its charging station, it stops all unnecessary electrical consumers.
25. When the robot's battery is recharged, it must be able to automatically return where it has abandoned its work.
26. The robot must have an autonomous charging station, powered by solar panels or a wind turbine, for example.
27. The charging time of the robot battery should not exceed 4 hours when the charging station is connected to the power grid. However, a longer charging time, for example 6 hours, may be allowed on a stand-alone charging station.