PHOTO: ROEL DIJKSTRA
FIELD ROBOTS ▶▶▶
Lightweight is foremost for autonomous vehicles
M BY MATTHIJS VERHAGEN
any tasks require the weight and traction of a tractor, such as ploughing. Even so, often a heavyweight will have an ad-
verse effect. H-WodKa believes an autono- mous vehicle could offer the solution here. Working with such lightweight, roboticised machinery will save on labour and have a positive effect on the soil, the seed bed and energy requirements. “The greatest bottleneck is still the regula- tions,” says farmer Leen Ampt, member of H-WodKa, a collaborative foundation of pro- gressive crop farmers. He explains their vision for the future: “If you don’t have a sufficient workforce, you have to look to larger machines for higher capacity. They are larger and wider, but also heavier, and that causes soil compac- tion.” For this reason, the crop farmers have been switching to wide tyres and systems to adjust air pressure. Although this partially eliminates the effects of heavy machinery, it does nothing to remove the cause.
Prototype in two years’ time H-Wodka have ideas for solutions. Last year they applied for a patent for an autonomous cultivation robot. The men do not wish to re- veal details, but you could regard it as a speed-harrow that runs on its own rear roller and additional stabilising wheels. It drives in- dependently over the land thanks to its own motor and steering. “We want to move away from the idea that you need a tractor with a tool,” continues Ampt. “You will need a power source, which still makes such a tool heavy, but we have ideas in that regard as well, plus a party that would be willing and able to build the robot. We are applying for a grant to fund the project, and hope to have a working prototype within 18 months to two years.” The crop farmers work from a practical per- spective: “In the spring, one of these robots with a combined seed potato cultivator and
20
A group of Dutch crop farmers are working on an autonomous machine that can prepare the land for sowing, i.e. a self-propelled power harrow. They also have ideas to develop an autonomous transport vehicle to commute between harvester and headland.
planter on the back can prepare the land. This means that the robot is monitored at the same time. Instead of the six-metre fold-up harrow, you could soon revert to a three-metre-wide machine that drives continuously.”
Technology is not the problem The men also see potential for an autonomous vehicle for harvesting. But it is more complex because it requires a completely different per- spective on harvesting and harvest logistics, with the associated investments. Such a sys- temic change does not happen overnight, and that hinders development somewhat. “You could revert from a bunker harvester to a truck harvester, which saves on weight. The autono- mous vehicle with four large tyres and an eight-tonne trough commutes between the
harvester and a transfer station on the head- land, explains Ampt.” Trucks with belt trailers then transport the potatoes to the storage fa- cility. “A truck harvester is miles cheaper than a bunker harvester,” continues Ampt, “and by cleaning the potatoes in the field, you can un- load them directly onto the belt back at the storage facility and the tare weight doesn’t need to be brought back.” Much of the required technology has been around for many years already. Take self-pro- pelled vehicles in ports, for example, or chaff cutters that have software for filling vehicles running alongside them, while nearby tractors send commands. “I don’t think technology is the limiting factor. It’s more about the costs and liability. The technology develops very quickly.”
An autonomous tool needs a power source, but that is not necessarily a heavy tractor, accor- ing to H-Wodka.
▶ FUTURE FARMING | 27 August 2019
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
