Emerging technologies and Innovation

Innovation, what exactly does one mean by innovation? The new ideas, methods, thoughts, concept or products that can be converted to actions which when instigated can lead to a positive and effective change. It is in short implementing of inventive act, which results in growth of the organization or welfare of the society. Looking at this concept I am interested in few emerging technologies which have inspired to a great extent.

Firstly, I would discuss about Artificial Intelligence. It is study of intelligent machines and software that have the ability to learn, gain knowledge, talk or communicate, handle and argue and distinguish the objects. It helps in solving real world problems. The role of artificial intelligence is booming in field of science and technology. In future it has the capability to replace human in many fields. It differs from computer science because it has the ability to perceive, act and analyse. It is kind of a smarter version of computer. It works on the basis of artificial neutral network and some scientific theorems. The application of this technology is vast few examples are cybernetics, military use, medical, graphics and visual, gaming, robotics and many more. Besides positive outcomes, we need to consider the pitfallsof this technology. It can be dangerous and can be the end of human race. It will make the humans paralysed or fully dependent also some error caused while designing or programming can create a huge problem and threat.

Another great technology is 3D (3 Dimension), it has vast possibility and use in human life and specially in entertainment field. They make use of 3D glasses (active or passive) for viewing. It places 2 minutely different images on top of each other in alternating continuation. After wearing those 3D glasses, we would be able to see the separating image and will be transmitted to us. Active 3D glasses have some electronics which have the ability to dissect the image in different ways, while passive 3D glasses don’t have any such electronic technique. We have seen the use of 3D technology in our laptops, movies and TVs and other such products. Architecture, education and gaming software, whereas mix of colour, texture, lighting and view are necessary for images to appear 3 dimensional. Few years back the 3D technology was costly which is not the case now.This technology has few loop holes like can cause nausea and headaches to some people, it has limited few and requires special digital screen for display, visual and focus problems. Recently, researchers have tried to implement use of 3D without glasses using active shutter glasses on projectors or screens.

There is one technology called nanotechnology which has interest me the most. It can be hard to envisage how small or mini would Nano mean. Nanotechnology is use and study of small things, deals with dimension and tolerances of atoms and molecules which are of the size less than 100 nanometres. The scope of nanotechnology in terms of information and communication technology is miniaturization method and long term tactics like Nano electronics, Nano systems in self establishing process. Due to development of Nano electronics, its application in military and superintelligence is rising. The future revolution in innovation is nanotechnology industry which will drasticallyalter the opportunity in areas of telecommunication, networking and computing. Few of them are nanomaterials in electrical and optical properties, mini memory and processors, controllers, micro-electro-mechanical systems etc. The challenges that it can face are variability, quality control, characterization, more research needs to be done and may be toxic to human kinds, they are not portable and power hungry. Though they have many problems, they have many plus points like nanotechnology is powerful, low cost, large monitor & hard drive, graphics intensive. It has wide use also in medicine, energy field, cosmetics and food industries and lots more. In comparison to other advanced and upcoming technologies I feel nanotechnology is more futuristic and ground-breaking. It has opening in funding, collaborations also.

Use of Technology in agriculture

 Use of Technology in Agriculture

(1) Based on Agriculture

1. Agricultural robot
2. Closed Ecological Systems
3. Cultured meat
4. Precision Agriculture
5. Vertical Farming

(2) Aviation

1. Drones
2. Micro air Vehicles
3. Neural-sensing headset

(3) Construction

1. 3D printing and Bio-printing
2. Claytronics
3. Molecular assembler
4. Utility fog

Based On Agriculture

Agricultural robots or agribot is a robot deployed for agricultural purposes. The main area of application of robots in agriculture today is at the harvesting stage. A possible emerging application are robots or drones for weed control.

Agriculture robot

General

Fruit picking robots, driver less tractor / sprayer, and sheep shearing robots are designed to replace human labor. In most cases, a lot of factors have to be considered (e.g., the size and color of the fruit to be picked) before the commencement of a task. Robots can be used for other horticultural tasks such as pruning, weeding, spraying and monitoring. Robots can also be used in livestock applications (livestock robotics) such as automatic milking, washing and castrating. Robots like these have many benefits for the agricultural industry, including a higher quality of fresh produce, lower production costs, and a smaller need for manual labor. They can also be used to automate manual tasks, such as weed or bracken spraying, where the use of tractors and other manned vehicles is too dangerous for the operators.

Designs

The mechanical design consists of an end effector, manipulator, and gripper. Several factors must be considered in the design of the manipulator, including the task, economic efficiency, and required motions. The end effector influences the market value of the fruit and the gripper's design is based on the crop that is being harvested.

End effectors

An end effector in an agricultural robot is the device found at the end of the robotic arm, used for various agricultural operations. Several different kinds of end effectors have been developed. In an agricultural operation involving grapes in Japan, end effectors are used for harvesting, berry-thinning, spraying, and bagging. Each was designed according to the nature of the task and the shape and size of the target fruit. For instance, the end effectors used for harvesting were designed to grasp, cut, and push the bunches of grapes.

Berry thinning is another operation performed on the grapes, and is used to enhance the market value of the grapes, increase the grapes' size, and facilitate the bunching process. For berry thinning, an end effector consists of an upper, middle, and lower part. The upper part has two plates and a rubber that can open and close. The two plates compress the grapes to cut off the rachis branches and extract the bunch of grapes. The middle part contains a plate of needles, a compression spring, and another plate which has holes spread across its surface. When the two plates compress, the needles punch holes through the grapes. Next, the lower part has a cutting device which can cut the bunch to standardize its length.

For spraying, the end effector consists of a spray nozzle that is attached to a manipulator. In practice, producers want to ensure that the chemical liquid is evenly distributed across the bunch. Thus, the design allows for an even distribution of the chemical by making the nozzle to move at a constant speed while keeping distance from the target.

The final step in grape production is the bagging process. The bagging end effector is designed with a bag feeder and two mechanical fingers. In the bagging process, the bag feeder is composed of slits which continuously supply bags to the fingers in an up and down motion. While the bag is being fed to the fingers, two leaf springs that are located on the upper end of the bag hold the bag open. The bags are produced to contain the grapes in bunches. Once the bagging process is complete, the fingers open and release the bag. This shuts the leaf springs, which seals the bag and prevents it from opening again.

End Effector

Gripper

The gripper is a grasping device that is used for harvesting the target crop. Design of the gripper is based on simplicity, low cost, and effectiveness. Thus, the design usually consists of two mechanical fingers that are able to move in synchrony when performing their task. Specifics of the design depend on the task that is being performed. For example, in a procedure that required plants to be cut for harvesting, the gripper was equipped with a sharp blade.

Gripper

Manipulator

The manipulator allows the gripper and end effector to navigate through their environment. The manipulator consists of four-bar parallel links that maintain the gripper's position and height. The manipulator also can utilize one, two, or three pneumatic actuators.

Pneumatic actuators are motors which produce linear and rotary motion by converting compressed air into energy. The pnuematic actuator is the most effective actuator for agricultural robots because of its high power-weight ratio. The most cost efficient design for the manipulator is the single actuator configuration, yet this is the least flexible option.

                                                                         manipulator

Application

Robots have many fields of application in agriculture. Some examples and prototypes of robots include the Merlin Robot Milker, Rosphere, Harvest Automation, Orange Harvester, lettuce bot, and weeder. One case of a large scale use of robots in farming is the milk bot. It is widespread among British dairy farms because of its efficiency and non requirement to move. According to David Gardner (chief executive of the Royal Agricultural Society of England), a robot can complete a complicated task if its repetitive and the robot is allowed to sit in a single place. Furthermore, robots that work on repetitive tasks (e.g. milking) fulfill their role to a consistent and particular standard.

Another field of application is horticulture. One horticultural application is the development of RV 100 by Harvest Automation Inc. RV 100 is designed to transport potted plants in a greenhouse or outdoor setting. The functions of RV100 in handling and organizing potted plants include spacing capabilities, collection, and consolidation. The benefits of using RV100 for this task include high placement accuracy, autonomous outdoor and indoor function, and reduced production costs.