PHOTO: JOOST STALLEN
ROBOT TILLING ▶▶▶
Robotic Naïo tractor heading for success
BY JOOST STALLEN I
t looks rather like the boss taking his dog out for a walk. The boss in this case is Leo Steenpoorte, on his way to a plot of kale di- rectly next to his farm in Oosterland, and beside him is the Oz440. The little cart rides obediently alongside Mr Steenpoorte, but it is certainly not there for companionship. The Oz440 is a self-propelled robot that acts like a workhorse: it is intended for mechanical weed- ing, because that is what the French manufac- turer Naïo had in mind when developing the device. Naïo is based in Toulouse, the high-tech capital of France. The aircraft of the European company Airbus are also assembled in Toulouse.
Back and forth While walking towards his crop, Mr Steen- poorte keeps the cart by his side using a simple remote control, but out amongst the
Oz, Dino, Bob and Ted
The Oz 440 has four-wheel drive, with batter- ies of 40 to 100 Ah for an operating time of three to eight hours. The Bob is related to the Oz, with a caterpillar track instead of a wheel set. This machine is a little wider and is used for picking (small) fruit and for cultivation purposes. The Ted is a high-clearance tractor with a tu- bular frame for high ground clearance and gaps between rows of more than 1.5 metres. RTK GPS is used for positioning. The Dino is similar to Oz in that it is specifi- cally designed for vegetable crops, weighing 800 kg and with a track width of 150 to 200 cm. RTK GPS keeps the Dino on course in combination with a camera on the front, and with lifting equipment fitted with side-shift mechanism underneath the robot. Capacity is up to 5 ha per day, with a travel speed of up to 4 km/h. Guide price of € 90,000.
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The French manufacturer Naïo is working intensively on a series of robotic tractors, which it is primarily recommending for grubbing and weeding. That seems too modest: Leo Steenpoorte from Oosterland, the Netherlands has been working with the Oz440 for six months, and it offers more opportunities for use than initially thought.
crop, the robot does everything inde- pendently. Two cameras or a laser scan the surroundings and keep the device on its course down the centre of the tracks be- tween the rows of plants, and it travels at a fixed speed. On this occasion, the lifting equipment at the rear has two 3-prong culti- vators attached to it: they move carefully through the soil between the rows, and are lifted automatically at the end of the process. The cart then turns around towards the next row and continues working.
The only thing that might throw a spanner in the works is an unexpected obstacle; the cart then stops and sends an alert to the farmer’s mobile phone. But these kinds of events are ex- ceptional. Plus the crop must not be too large, such as this kale. But the Oz cannot help that. Mr Steenpoorte has been working with the Oz440 since spring this year, for carrying out mechanical weeding, but also for all manner of other tasks. “It can be used for far more than we initially thought... for convenience, and to save time. It’s here to stay as far as I’m concerned.”
The Dino is the big brother of the Oz. ▶ FUTURE FARMING | 1 November 2018
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