Design of a Modular Soft Tool for Automatic Seed Sowing

Agriculture 4.0, a concept introduced in the last decade, aims to implement all the knowledge gained in the industry into various agricultural tasks, such as weeding and harvesting. Although several task remains challenging due to working in unstructured environments, they have led to the implementation of various automation technologies, including classical robotics. However, this has not been the case with tasks like sowing, where the main problem lies in the handling of small and delicate objects such as seeds, making precise and damage-free manipulation difficult. Soft robotics is emerging as the next evolution of these traditional robotic systems, enabling the manipulation of delicate and precise objects in unstructured environments without bruising them. This article proposes a modular soft tool for the gentle and agile manipulation of seed in the automation of sowing tasks.