Moisture measurement in crops using spherical robots

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a new low‐cost system based on a spherical robot for performing moisture monitoring in precision agriculture. Design/methodology/approach – The work arose from the necessity of providing farmers with alternative methods for crop monitoring. Thus, after analysing the main requirements, a spherical robot was chosen as a tentative approach. The presented work summarizes the work carried out in selecting the basics to apply in the robot, as well as its mechanical and electronic design. After designing and constructing the robot, several tests have been performed, in order to validate the robot for performing monitoring task and moving on different types of soil. Findings – The performed tests reveal that spherical robot is a suitable solution for performing the task. Research limitations/implications – Some improvements in control should be applied in order to reach a fully autonomous navigation in very slippery soils. Nevertheless, the performance of the robot in teleoperated mode allows validating of the system. Practical implications – The robot turned out to be friendly and harmless in its use for this application. The cost of final series will be affordable in comparison with the cost of other methods. Endurance of the robot can be considered as fair. Originality/value – The paper presents a new tool for farming based on non‐common robot.