North Gyeongsang Province's Yeongyang-gun conducts a field demonstration of a multipurpose pepper-farming machine based on an autonomous-driving platform at a test plot in Cheonggi-ri, Cheonggi-myeon, on Aug. 5. [Yeongyang-gun]
North Gyeongsang Province's Yeongyang-gun conducts a field demonstration of a multipurpose pepper-farming machine based on an autonomous-driving platform at a test plot in Cheonggi-ri, Cheonggi-myeon, on Aug. 5. [Yeongyang-gun]

A smart agricultural machine designed to carry out pest control and farming tasks in place of human workers has been deployed in pepper fields in Yeongyang-gun, North Gyeongsang Province.

Yeongyang-gun said researchers recently conducted a field demonstration of a multipurpose pepper-farming machine built on an autonomous-driving platform at a test plot in Cheonggi-ri, Cheonggi-myeon.

The test focused on the machine's autonomous navigation and pest-control functions.

Researchers and farmers checked whether the machine moved steadily along the furrows of the pepper field, whether the spray nozzles distributed pesticide evenly across the crops, and whether nozzle pressure was maintained at an appropriate level.

The core goal of the project is to combine work attachments with the autonomous-driving platform so that farmers make fewer trips back and forth across their fields.

The project began in April last year and runs through December 2029.

Yeongyang-gun Agricultural Technology Center, Gyeonguk National University, Chungnam National University and Daesin ACM are participating jointly.

Development is currently focused on the autonomous-driving platform and the pest-control unit.

Researchers plan to repeatedly verify driving and spraying performance at test plots in Cheonggi-ri and Daecheon-ri while refining the equipment.

The scope of development will also expand in stages. Future functions are set to include transplanting pepper seedlings, irrigation and mulching-vinyl collection.

Yeongyang-gun Mayor Oh Do-chang said the county would "actively incorporate the diverse opinions of farmers raised in the field into the research and development process, advancing the technology into a practical tool that improves the convenience and efficiency of farm work."


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