Sustainable mechatronic solution for agricultural precision farming inspired by space robotics technologies

Despite recent developments in satellite-based agricultural crop monitoring, agricultural food production is still very much a traditional process in which the monitoring of the farming fields is still a manual process. In addition, the application of crop nutrients and control of pest and disease remains at best a very much hard automated process in respect of spreading fertilisers and pest control agents. There is a strong desire from the farming community and at governmental level to accelerate the advancement of smart faming, which requires more frequent soil condition measurement, precision fertiliser application and more optimal pest agent control and application. Mechatronic systems as the outcome of an academic discipline have much to offer to smart farming, and sustainable and secure food production. This chapter looks at the recent development of mechatronic systems for farming applications and focuses on a sustainable approach with more energy efficient ways of designing a mechatronic solution for farm soil monitoring and selective harvesting. It is intended that a more sustainable paradigm can be followed and strengthened for more sustainable and energy efficient food production.