Daniel Albiero

Daniel Albiero, Gelton Fernando de Morais, Daniela Han et al.

Tropical forests worldwide are under intense deforestation pressure driven by economic and political interests, and scientific evidence suggests this deforestation contributes to climate change. This paper proposes a novel logging method for tropical forests, Ultra-Reduced-Impact-Encased-Logging (URIEL). This new method is based on heli-logging techniques combined with intensive use of robotics and AI integrated with post-harvest silvicultural treatments performed by drones. The concept of appropriate equipment for this method was developed, dimensions were determined, details were completed in a digital proof of concept, and an effective digital simulation and economic feasibility analysis were carried out for various helicopter-timber-distance combinations. The results demonstrated that a URIEL method has high economic viability and makes it possible to virtually eliminate collateral damage to forests while maintaining ecosystem services. The main conclusion of this paper is that, despite the satisfactory scientific and technological results, the feasibility of a Uriel method depends on the integration of stakeholders intrinsic to the context: high-tech industry; political governments; certified logging companies; and native populations.

Daniel Albiero, Angel Pontin Garcia, Claudio Kiyoshi Umezu et al.

Agricultural mechanization is an area of knowledge that has evolved a lot over the past century, its main actors being agricultural tractors that, in 100 years, have increased their powers by 3,300%. This evolution has resulted in an exponential increase in the field capacity of such machines. However, it has also generated negative results such as excessive consumption of fossil fuel, excessive weight on the soil, very high operating costs, and millionaire acquisition value. This paper aims to present an antiparadigmatic alternative in this area. It is proposing a swarm of small electric robotic tractors that together have the same field capacity as a large tractor with an internal combustion engine. A comparison of costs and field capacity between a 270 kW tractor and a swarm of ten swarm tractors of 24 kW each was carried out. The result demonstrated a wide advantage for the small robot team. It was also proposed the preliminary design of an electric swarm robot tractor. Finally, research challenges were suggested to operationalize such a proposal, calling on the Brazilian Robotics Research Community to elaborate a roadmap for research in the area of swarm robot for mechanized agricultural operations.