智慧农业（中英文）2023，Vol.5Issue(4)：16-32,17.DOI:10.12133/j.smartag.SA202308006
农业轮式机器人三维环境感知技术研究进展
Three-Dimensional Environment Perception Technology for Agricultural Wheeled Robots:A Review
摘要
Abstract
[Significance]As the research focus of future agricultural machinery,agricultural wheeled robots are developing in the direction of intelligence and multi-functionality.Advanced environmental perception technologies serve as a crucial foundation and key compo-nents to promote intelligent operations of agricultural wheeled robots.However,considering the non-structured and complex environ-ments in agricultural on-field operational processes,the environmental information obtained through conventional 2D perception tech-nologies is limited.Therefore,3D environmental perception technologies are highlighted as they can provide more dimensional infor-mation such as depth,among others,thereby directly enhancing the precision and efficiency of unmanned agricultural machinery oper-ation.This paper aims to provide a detailed analysis and summary of 3D environmental perception technologies,investigate the issues in the development of agricultural environmental perception technologies,and clarify the future key development directions of 3D en-vironmental perception technologies regarding agricultural machinery,especially the agricultural wheeled robot. [Progress]Firstly,an overview of the general status of wheeled robots was introduced,considering their dominant influence in envi-ronmental perception technologies.It was concluded that multi-wheel robots,especially four-wheel robots,were more suitable for the agricultural environment due to their favorable adaptability and robustness in various agricultural scenarios.In recent years,multi-wheel agricultural robots have gained widespread adoption and application globally.The further improvement of the universality,oper-ation efficiency,and intelligence of agricultural wheeled robots is determined by the employed perception systems and control sys-tems.Therefore,agricultural wheeled robots equipped with novel 3D environmental perception technologies can obtain high-dimen-sional environmental information,which is significant for improving the accuracy of decision-making and control.Moreover,it en-ables them to explore effective ways to address the challenges in intelligent environmental perception technology.Secondly,the recent development status of 3D environmental perception technologies in the agriculture field was briefly reviewed.Meanwhile,sensing equipment and the corresponding key technologies were also introduced.For the wheeled robots reported in the agriculture area,it was noted that the applied technologies of environmental perception,in terms of the primary employed sensor solutions,were divided into three categories:LiDAR,vision sensors,and multi-sensor fusion-based solutions.Multi-line LiDAR had better performance on many tasks when employing point cloud processing algorithms.Compared with LiDAR,depth cameras such as binocular cameras,TOF cameras,and structured light cameras have been comprehensively investigated for their application in agricultural robots.Depth camera-based perception systems have shown superiority in cost and providing abundant point cloud information.This study has in-vestigated and summarized the latest research on 3D environmental perception technologies employed by wheeled robots in agricultur-al machinery.In the reported application scenarios of agricultural environmental perception,the state-of-the-art 3D environmental per-ception approaches have mainly focused on obstacle recognition,path recognition,and plant phenotyping.3D environmental percep-tion technologies have the potential to enhance the ability of agricultural robot systems to understand and adapt to the complex,un-structured agricultural environment.Furthermore,they can effectively address several challenges that traditional environmental per-ception technologies have struggled to overcome,such as partial sensor information loss,adverse weather conditions,and poor light-ing conditions.Current research results have indicated that multi-sensor fusion-based 3D environmental perception systems outper-form single-sensor-based systems.This superiority arises from the amalgamation of advantages from various sensors,which concur-rently serve to mitigate individual shortcomings. [Conclusions and Prospects]The potential of 3D environmental perception technology for agricultural wheeled robots was discussed in light of the evolving demands of smart agriculture.Suggestions were made to improve sensor applicability,develop deep learning-based agricultural environmental perception technology,and explore intelligent high-speed online multi-sensor fusion strategies.Cur-rently,the employed sensors in agricultural wheeled robots may not fully meet practical requirements,and the system's cost remains a barrier to widespread deployment of 3D environmental perception technologies in agriculture.Therefore,there is an urgent need to en-hance the agricultural applicability of 3D sensors and reduce production costs.Deep learning methods were highlighted as a powerful tool for processing information obtained from 3D environmental perception sensors,improving response speed and accuracy.Howev-er,the limited datasets in the agriculture field remain a key issue that needs to be addressed.Additionally,multi-sensor fusion has been recognized for its potential to enhance perception performance in complex and changeable environments.As a result,it is clear that 3D environmental perception technology based on multi-sensor fusion is the future development direction of smart agriculture.To overcome challenges such as slow data processing speed,delayed processed data,and limited memory space for storing data,it is es-sential to investigate effective fusion schemes to achieve online multi-source information fusion with greater intelligence and speed.关键词
轮式机器人/三维环境感知/激光雷达/视觉传感器/多传感器融合/自主导航Key words
wheeled robot/3D environment perception/laser radar/vision sensors/multi-sensor fusion/autonomous navigation分类
农业科技引用本文复制引用
陈睿韵,田文斌,鲍海波,李端,谢鑫浩,郑永军,谭彧..农业轮式机器人三维环境感知技术研究进展[J].智慧农业（中英文）,2023,5(4):16-32,17.基金项目
国家自然科学基金(61901023,32171901) National Natural Science Foundation of China(61901023,32171901) （61901023,32171901）
