Our Associated Partnership Laboratory
2023 also marks the creation of a closer partnership between the Innovative Company SHERPA-Engineering and INRAE’s UR TSCF as part of an i-SMART innovation and Sustainable Methods Agricultural Robotics and off-road mobiliTy Associated Partnership Laboratory, focused on three research projects for the development of Tools and Methods for agricultural robotics:
Project 1: Evaluate the environmental sustainability of agricultural robotics and agricultural equipment technologies by combining Systems and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approaches with a view to eco-design.
The aim of this project is to meet the increasingly high expectations of manufacturers of agricultural machinery in general, and of agricultural robots in particular: to provide them with criteria for assessing the environmental impact of their new products, not only during use (e.g. impact of new low-carbon engines, use of machines in an agro-ecological context), but also during eco-design at the start of the life cycle (e.g. impact of using certain types of materials) or recycling at the end of the life cycle. The coupling of LCA [Life Cycle Assessment Methods and Description Tools – INRAE-TSCF] and System Engineering [modelling/fine representation of the operation of machines at different grids – SHERPA-Engineering] makes it possible to offer original methods and tools to qualify a new machine as closely as possible in absolute terms, but also in relative terms by being able to compare it with existing machines.
Project 2: Development of tools and methods for evaluating the performance and safety of agricultural and off-road robots, using physical tests and expert assessments.
This project is developing new test methods and protocols to validate safety requirements through physical testing, and more generally to evaluate the performance of the robotic system in carrying out different tasks.
In terms of design, the aim is to provide expert advice on design files with regard to operational safety, requirements and validation plans.
Project 3: Development of a digital twin workshop for agricultural / off-road robotics
The digital environments and tools developed/adapted in this project will accelerate the development of agricultural/off-road robotic solutions by enabling the evaluation of sub-systems and systems, as well as robotic systems in their evolution/workspaces, even upstream of the robot’s physical existence. This project involves setting up a digital twins workshop, with the aim of responding very rapidly (from 2023) to the needs of various players (industry, research).
In terms of design, the aim is to provide expert advice on design files with regard to operational safety, requirements and validation plans.
