1. Principles and Practices, Project Management¶

My assignments for this week were to define my final project idea and starting to getting used to the documentation process.

Project idea research💡¶

My project is based on research work carried out in my own FabLab TIDD LAB in the field of smart agriculture.

I have therefore highlighted some issues related to our work to which I will have to propose solutions throughout my course at the Fab Academy on my various missions each week. I was particularly interested in the issues related to sowing seeds in agriculture.

`What is sowing ?`¶

Sowing is a cultural operation which consists of planting seeds or seeds in the ground, whether in a field or a small area. Sowing can be done by hand, or mechanized using seeders.

`Sowing history`¶

The beginnings of agriculture involved the gathering and natural propagation of seeds. The first forms of systematic cultivation emerged with the intentional planting of selected seeds.

Early sowing methods probably used hand broadcasting of seeds, but the introduction of the plow allowed for more efficient tillage.

Some ancient civilizations developed mechanical seeders powered by draft animals. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Industrial Revolution introduced more advanced agricultural machinery, speeding up the sowing process. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, agriculture experienced increasing mechanization, with the introduction of animal-powered seeders and then tractors.

The mid-20th century saw the Green Revolution, introducing new varieties, chemical fertilizers and pesticides, improving seeders for more efficient crop management. Recent decades have been marked by the integration of technologies such as GPS, sensors and GIS in seeders, allowing fine management of fields.

`Some issues related to sowing`¶

1. Sowing precision

Achieving even and precise seed distribution across the entire planting area is often a challenge. With conventional methods we are often faced with uneven spacing of plants, influencing crop growth and yield.

2. Soil compaction

The use of large agricultural equipment, such as tractors and mechanical seeders, can cause soil compaction, compromising its structure. Finding solutions to minimize this impact and preserve soil health is a major concern.

`Solutions`¶

To resolve these issues and optimize seed sowing, aiming to increase efficiency and promote sustainable agriculture, I decided to make a sowing robot.

My research on sowing robots allowed me to come across the project (Mobile Agricultural Robot Swarms)MARS

This allowed me to imagine the concept of my sowing robot which I named SeedBot.

Documentation process💡¶

After defining my project idea I started the documentation process. As part of the Fab Academy, it is mandatory to use a website to describe all the elements related to your homework and your final project.

So I opted for the use of Git and Visual Studio Code (Vs Code) to clone my Fab Academy repository on Gitlab in order to be able to edit my code directly from my computer.