search.noResults

search.searching

dataCollection.invalidEmail
note.createNoteMessage

search.noResults

search.searching

orderForm.title

orderForm.productCode
orderForm.description
orderForm.quantity
orderForm.itemPrice
orderForm.price
orderForm.totalPrice
orderForm.deliveryDetails.billingAddress
orderForm.deliveryDetails.deliveryAddress
orderForm.noItems
PHOTO: KOOS GROENEWOLD


FIELD ROBOTS ▶▶▶


People are the biggest hurdle for the breakthrough of robots


I BY RENÉ KOERHUIS


n late June, various manufacturers and developers of robots, autonomous vehi- cles and technologies met with startups in Berlin, Germany, for the first VDI confer-


ence on automation and robotisation in agri- culture. VDI is the Association of German Engi- neers. Apart from the speakers, the number of participants from tractor and machine manu- facturers and from suppliers from other sec- tors was striking. The latter group seemed particularly interested in the opportunities for their products in agriculture, networking, and scouting startups with interesting disruptive ideas. Speakers from Europe and North Ameri- ca, such as AgroIntelli, Autonomous Solutions Incorporated (ASI), Carbon Bee, Case IH, DeLaval, Dell, Naïo Technologies, Octinion, Ro- bot Makers and Robovision spoke about their ‘robotic’ developments.


37 companies Ole Green, conference chairman and CEO of Danish robot manufacturer AgroIntelli opened the conference by mentioning that, after a quick sum-up, he counts 37 companies in Europe alone, that are currently involved in the development of agricultural robots. ‘How many of them will eventually survive,’ was buzzing around in the room. More so after DeLaval explained how long it took the milk- ing robot to get adopted in the global dairy market: 10 to 15 years. After all, the first field robot was also presented at least 10 years ago … Meanwhile, AgroIntelli sold six autonomous Robotti tool carriers, especially to research in- stitutions and universities. And co-founder of French robot manufacturer Naïo Technologies Gaëtan Séverac indicated that they have al- ready sold 100 ‘handy help’ Oz robots, 20 Dino arable robots and 15 Ted vineyard robots. When asked about the moment he thinks to have sold 100 Dino robots, Séverac answered “within 3 years”.


During two days, machine manufacturers, suppliers and specialists from universities discussed the state of and future for automation and robotisation in agriculture. Conclusion: people are the biggest obstacle, not technology nor legislation.


Just one accident, and… Compared to certain Asian countries including Japan, legislation in Europe and North Ameri- ca is not yet enabling nor permitting the use of autonomous vehicles on non-fenced or non-closed fields and sites, or sites without direct human supervision. And just one acci- dent with a robot will throw the market back 5 years, say both Green and Séverac. The de- velopers and engineers attending the confer- ence are more concerned about functional safety than about legislation that is or might be lagging behind. According to them, it is the farmers and operators themselves, as well as children and coincidental onlookers and bystanders that form the biggest threats and obstacles for safety because they do not (yet) know how to deal with robots. Naïo


Technologies therefore trains farmers and operators intensively in how to handle its different robots. Reliable technology, most of whom swear by GPS because of its reliability and robustness, is in most cases no longer a problem or an issue. According to Chris Roberts (Cambridge Con- sultants, UK), Jan Kamp (Wageningen Univer- sity & Research Netherlands) and Didier Ver- haeghe (Octinion, Belgium) it is necessary to re-examine and redevelop existing indoor and outdoor cultivation systems in order to make the deployability and usability of robots possi- ble and profitable. For example by growing strawberries off the ground instead of in the ground at a certain height so that they can be found, selected and picked more easily by robots.


According to manufacturers and experts, farmers and operators as well as coincidental bystanders are the biggest hurdle for safe use of robots and autonomous vehicles.


▶ FUTURE FARMING | 27 August 2019 27


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