IMUs Help Deliver the Daily Bread

The latest inertial measurement units are driving all types of autonomous machines in the farm-to-table food movement. An expert with Analog Devices explains.

The term ‘autonomous vehicle’ often conjures the image of driverless cars, but a more tangible and nearer-term application of vehicle autonomy is with the “farm-to-table” movement that promotes serving fresh, locally-grown food at restaurants and school cafeterias.

The new “normal” necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic created a surge in home delivery of groceries and all kinds of products. This increased demand, coupled with restrictions such as social distancing, has boosted usage of autonomous machines, which have quickly become integral to grocery stores, warehouses and hospitals. Autonomous machines touch practically every aspect of the farm-to-table ecosystem, from agricultural equipment used to harvest produce in crop fields to semi-autonomous commercial trucks ferrying goods to warehouses, and finally, last-mile delivery vehicles including vans, drones and automated ground vehicles (AGVs).