Advanced Automation for Tree Fruit Orchards and Vineyards (eBook)

Modern tree fruit orchards and vineyards constitute complex production systems that are exposed to highly dynamic and stochastic natural, financial and societal forces, and face demands for increased production using fewer resources, with reduced environmental impact. Successful operation of orchards and vineyards under these conditions is practically impossible without careful and extensive use of state-of-the-art automation technologies and careful planning of future operations (e.g., training systems when replanting) that can be enabled by knowledge of emerging technologies and future trends. Also, improvement of existing automation technologies and development of novel future systems cannot be accomplished without a working understanding of the tree and vine biological production systems, their management needs, and the capabilities and limitations of existing automation systems. The book aims to provide the necessary knowledge to achieve the above goals in a way that can engage readers without engineering or horticultural backgrounds. 

Dr. Qin Zhang is the Director of the Center for Precision and Automated Agricultural Systems (CPAAS) and a Professor of Agricultural Automation in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering, Washington State University (WSU); and a Member of Washington State Academy of Science (WSAS). He received his B.S. degree in engineering from Zhejiang Agricultural University, China; M.S. degree from the University of Idaho and Ph.D. degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His current research interests include agricultural cybernetics, agricultural mechanization and robotization, and mobile equipment mechatronics. Based on his research outcomes, he has authored/edited 11 books, written 28 separate book chapters, edited three conference proceedings, published 190+ peer reviewed journal articles, 60+ other peer reviewed articles, and been awarded 12 U.S. patents. He is currently serving as the Chair Editor for Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, and the Editor-in-Chief for the Springer Encyclopedia of Smart Agriculture Technologies. Dr. Qin Zhang has also been invited to give 20 keynote speeches and 36 invited talks at international professional conferences, plus numerous invited seminars and guest lectures at 60+ universities and research institutes worldwide. He has also given talks at more than a dozen major agricultural equipment manufacturers in the North/South America, Europe, and Asia. Dr. Qin Zhang is a Fellow of iAABE (International Academy of Agricultural and Biological Engineering) and ASABE (American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers), an Honorary Vice President of CIGR (International Commission of Agricultural and Biological Engineering), a Full Member of the Club of Bologna (a World Task-force on the Strategies for the Development of Agricultural Mechanization), and is serving or served as a guest or an adjunct professor for nine universities in different countries. He has received several awards and honors over the years, featured by John Deere Gold Medal, a major award to agricultural and biological engineers for distinguished achievement in the application of science and art to the soil in 2017.