Evaluation of Human Physical Activity with Support Work of Agricultural Robot

Abstract

In Japan, agricultural production decreases year by year. Moreover, the reduction in agricultural work population and increase in abandoned cultivated land are major social issues. To overcome these issues, a consortium led by Japan Research Institute, Ltd. has proposed a small agricultural robot, "MY DONKEY^®," that supports the transportation of harvested crops and records the farm work performed by the user and the crop yield on a field map while it follows the user. In the cultivation of crops, various tasks and operations are required according to the cultivation process, such as watering, weeding, raking up fallen leaves, spraying chemicals such as herbicides, removing auxiliary buds, top pruning, and harvesting. To provide effective support, the design must consider the human–robot interaction and operation according to the task. Therefore, the effect of the work support by the robot must be evaluated quantitatively. In this study, we focus on evaluating the extent of physical activity with and without robot support using an activity meter. Experiments were conducted at a farm and the effect of robot support was evaluated based on physical activity measurements.