New research from The Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) shows how robust robotic systems can support both food production and bioenergy in challenging tropical farming environments.
Researching agricultural robots for large-scale fields
Brazilian PhD candidate Marco Fernandes dos Santos Xaud has developed solutions that enable robots to operate in large tropical agricultural fields, particularly sugarcane plantations. These fields differ greatly from Norwegian agriculture and play a key role in the global energy transition, as sugarcane can be used to produce bioenergy.
Two innovative robotic solutions
Xaud’s thesis introduces two major innovations:
TIBA – Field robot for sugarcane row navigation
A compact, low-cost skid-steering robot that uses thermal infrared cameras and deep learning to detect and follow crop rows under dense canopy where GNSS signals are unavailable. A robust sliding-mode controller ensures accurate navigation even under changing light conditions, without expensive sensors.
Hyper-constrained parallel mechanism (HCPM)
A robotic arm designed for high precision and speed in industrial and agricultural tasks. Xaud developed a systematic modeling approach and a robust control strategy that achieves accurate motion despite model uncertainties and external disturbances.
Why is this important?
The goal of this research is to combine robust control methods with practical, affordable hardware to make agricultural robots closer to real deployment in large fields. Scientifically, the thesis contributes new methods for IR-based navigation, parallel mechanism modeling, and robust control design under uncertainty. In a broader context, these results can improve food production efficiency and strengthen bioenergy value chains, such as ethanol and bioproducts from sugarcane.
FACTs:
Marco Fernandes dos Santos Xaud
- Previous education: BSc in control and automation engineering (UFRJ – Federal University of Rio de Janeiro). MSc in electrical engineering with emphasis on control, automation and robotics (COPPE/UFRJ – Federal University of Rio de Janeiro)
- From: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- PhD degree: NMBU's Faculty of Science and Technology
- Employer: Equinor
- Title of thesis:
- Norwegian: Mekanisk design, modellering og robust regulering av robotsystemer for landbruksapplikasjoner: teori og eksperimenter
- English: Mechanical Design, Modeling and Robust Control of Robotic Systems for Agricultural Applications: Theory and Experiments
Marco Fernandes dos Santos Xaud will defend his thesis on 16 December 2025 at NMBU. Read more about the event here.