Spring Farming in Progress | Integrated Air-and-Ground Perception: Radar Enhances the Safety of Agricultural Robot Operations

2026-04-13

Abstract

In the field of agricultural robotics, Nanoradar Radar has been integrated into multiple smart agricultural machines—such as the unmanned, intelligent farming equipment developed by CAS Origin Power—and is now deployed in real-world farmland operations. It is also used on the crop protection drone platforms of more than ten customers worldwide.

Spring plowing is underway.

On the ground, smart agricultural machinery completes plowing and seeding.

Drones are spraying pesticides and fertilizers in the air.

From the ground to the sky, agricultural operations are undergoing comprehensive intelligent transformation.

Radar as a Key Component of Agricultural Robots

Providing reliable environmental perception capabilities

From “Visible” to “Stable”: Higher Requirements for Farmland Environments

Compared with urban roads, agricultural fields present a more complex and unstructured environment:

◎ Dust flies everywhere, easily disrupting vision.

◎ Variable lighting, with frequent backlighting and shadows.

◎Undulating terrain with irregular obstacles

◎Long, slender targets such as trees and power lines are more difficult to identify.

Relying solely on vision makes it difficult to achieve stable, all-weather perception. Radar is needed as a robust and reliable perception foundation.

From Ground to Air: Radar Underpins “Air-Ground Integrated” Perception Capabilities

Aerial: “1+N” Six-Direction Millimeter-Wave Radar Solution

Achieve 720° omnidirectional perception for drones

One altimeter radar, in conjunction with N obstacle-avoidance radars deployed in six directions around the airframe, enables 360° horizontal and 360° vertical, or a total of 720° of blind-spot-free perception, providing the UAV with all-around, 360° protection and ensuring safe flight even in complex agricultural environments.

Ground: 3D dual-wide-angle millimeter-wave radar

Implementing Forward Obstacle Avoidance for Agricultural Machinery

The radar is mounted on the front of the agricultural machine for forward obstacle detection. It operates reliably even in dusty farm environments, supporting path planning and safe obstacle avoidance to ensure the continuity and reliability of unmanned operations.

Focusing on Being Integrated: Nanoradar Advances Radar Adoption in Real-World Agriculture

To meet the demand for robust perception in agricultural robotics, Nanoradar has continuously expanded its radar portfolio. Its vehicle-mounted radars cover a range of 20–170 meters, with a point-cloud density of 1,200 points per frame and a minimum beam footprint of 40×40 mm, while supporting multiple interfaces such as serial, CAN, and RS485 for seamless customer integration. For UAV applications, Nanoradar offers radar solutions operating at 24, 77, and 80 GHz, featuring update rates from 50 to 500 Hz and ranging capabilities from 30 to 3,000 meters.

Real-world application and validation through authentic tasks across multiple scenarios
In the field of agricultural robotics, Nanoradar Radar has been integrated into multiple smart agricultural machines—such as the unmanned, intelligent farming equipment developed by CAS Origin Power—and is now deployed in real-world farmland operations. It is also used on the crop protection drone platforms of more than ten customers worldwide.