Networking Architectures and Protocols for Multi-Robot Systems in Agriculture 4.0

Agriculture 4.0 is an important area of research that is evolving very quickly due to the considerable advances in many technologies. Multi-robot systems (MRS) constitute one the most important components that can provide smart farms with the required functions and services to achieve the objectives of increased productivity, efficient allocation of resources, adaptation to climate changes, and elimination of food waste. For example, MRS systems can perform important tasks including seeding, harvesting, checking for disease, chemical spraying and weed control. In this paper, we provide an overview of the networking architectures, and protocols that can be used for MRS systems in agriculture 4.0. We also discuss the various issues and challenges involved in robot-to-robot (R2R) and robot-to-infrastructure (R2I) communication, and provide a case study of UAV-based data collection from WSNs in smart farms.