Autonomous Ground Vehicle for Field Activities: Preliminary Sustainability Assessments

Currently, the use of agricultural machinery for on-field operations appears to be one of the most impactful activities in the food sector. The implementation by farmers of innovative solutions for improving farm efficiency and sustainability has been addressed in many ways. One of these solutions deals with the implementation of autonomous ground vehicles (AGVs) to carry out agricultural tasks, where the impacts associated with agricultural AGVs are still limited. Thus, this study aims to analyze the energy and environmental burdens of an AGV coupled with a mower. The life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology was adopted to analyze energy requirements and the associated environmental emissions. The fully electric AGV is equipped with two rubber tracks powered by 2000 W motors. The self-propelled rotary mower is powered by a 9 kW engine, weighs 230 kg, and has a working width of 120 cm. The results of the analysis showed that the embodied primary energy of both AGV plus Implement (AGV+I) accounted for 104 MJ kg−1, while related emissions were found to be 6.86 kg CO2e kg−1. Moreover, analyzing the inputs of the AGV+I system, the battery pack and the iron materials accounted for the main portion of the total impacts. In conclusion, the outcomes of this study will strongly help to pursue the objectives and targets foreseen by the main strategic plans related to the reduction of environmental impacts, improvement of agricultural production efficiency, and increasing the digitization and innovation of the agricultural sector.