AUTONOMOUS TRACTORS ▶▶▶
first objective is to get the machines working in the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Sas- katchewan, where the authorities are keen to embrace any technology that cuts the number of accidents caused by overtired operators. However, the company is bound to be en- gaged in a few arm wrestles with law makers in other countries. Default protection modes that bring it to a standstill outside of its working boundaries are standard and more safety kit will be add- ed in due course, including radar/lidar sen- sors. Developments in the autonomy of cars – particularly self-steering and automatic braking – are making the technology cheaper than ever before, but someone, somewhere will still have to be responsible. Early models aren’t set-up to drive on the roads and will need carting to sites on a trailer – but the plan is to be able to send units between fields in the future.
Building implements One of the perks of Dot is that it can be used for all sorts of tasks, including grain carting, cultivating, drilling and spraying. All of the im- plements are mounted without wheels or hitches – instead it uses four ram powered hooks to hoist the implement on to cone-like guides, in turn forming the fourth side of the rectangular frame. Designing the power unit first – with a single, clear horsepower rating and hydraulic capacity – means the imple- ments can be built to suit its capacity. The
Dot uses a simple but clever U-shaped carriage to pick up implements sideways before swivelling 90 degrees on its four wheels so the engine sits at the front during field work.
company has assembled a range of items through sister firm SeedMaster, most of which have been adapted from standard, hydraulically driven tools. The 9m drill, for instance, is simply one third of the firm’s mainstream product and is able to offer variable rate and auto shut-off. Other products will include a 12-row planter, 18m sprayer with 3,785-litre tank, a 12.5m land roll- er and 14 ton grain cart. Short-line manufac- turers have also been invited to build their own Dot-ready implements and it has prompt- ed a flurry of interest from companies such as Pattison Liquid Systems, that developed a 36m sprayer. Although the development process is
expensive, potential suppliers see Dot as a fast-tracked opportunity to get into the robot- ics business without relying on the world’s biggest ag machinery makers. Other potential sectors for automation include the repetitive tasks of feeding and cleaning duties on dairy farms – a market where the likes of Lely have already had plenty of success with smaller robotic units. There have also been whacky- sounding whispers about making a combine.
Short-line manufacturers have also been invited to build their own Dot-ready implements such as Pattison Liquid Systems, that developed a 36 m sprayer.
30 ▶ FUTURE FARMING | 1 November 2018
When will it be available? As many as six units should be up and run- ning for this season, with another 20 sched- uled for production next year and many more in the pre-order book. The company is initially focusing on western Canada, but it hopes to have a Europe-friendly model with a 3m transport width ready within three years. That timeline puts it well ahead of most other au- tonomous tractors being developed by uni- versities and researchers, which are predomi- nantly small, electrically powered and miles from reaching mainstream production and large-scale operation. Surprisingly, the farm machinery market’s biggest hitters have so far failed to get any sort of chokehold on the gold rush of autonomous ag. The likes of CNH, Fendt and Kubota have dabbled with driver- less technology – and several others have demoed master-and-slave-style systems – but, so far, their efforts seem to be more of a bombastic marketing exercise than anything close to manufacturing.
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