BEST CONCEPT ▶▶▶
Who will win the award for Best Concept Field Robot 2020?
The FIRA International Forum of Agricultural Robotics and Future Farming will award a prize for the best concept field robot in 2020.
All over the world, smart and often very pas- sionate people are working hard on field ro- bots designed to make work easier and more efficient for farmers. These are robots that ena- ble the cultivation of crops with less labour, harmful chemicals and fertilisers, and fewer greenhouse gas emissions. Dozens of agricul- tural robot concepts have been introduced in recent years. Some have now found their way to farms across the globe, but most are still in a concept phase. Which one of these field robots is the most original and has the best potential to contribute to increased and more sustaina- ble food production? In other words: which field robot deserves the award for “Best field robot concept 2020”?
FIRA robotics event An independent jury with representatives from Wageningen University, the Future Farming ed- itorial team and the Global Organisation for Agricultural Robots (GOFAR) will choose a win- ner from among known pioneers of field ro- bots. The prize will be awarded during the an- nual FIRA International Forum of Agricultural Robotics on 8-10 December 2020.
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Robotiller for a perfect seed bed
Maker The Dutch Reedyk hydraulics company is building a pre-prototype in consultation with a group of innovative Dutch arable farmers who are cooperating on the H-Wodka project. Task(s) The Robotiller will be a dedicated field robot for a range of shallow soil cultivations such as soil surface levelling, (false) seedbed and plantbed preparation, full width weed con- trol and stubble cultivation. How it works The Robotiller will be a relatively light ma- chine, supported by cage rollers over the entire width to ensure minimal ground pres- sure. A power harrow and/or static tillage
Yanmar modular robotic platform
Maker Yanmar R&D Europe (YRE), with its Europe- an research facility in Florence, Italy. Re- search includes the two-year, € 4 million SMASH project that is being carried out in cooperation with ten technology partners. Task(s) The modular robotic platform employs the latest information communications technol- ogy to examine crops and soils, analyse gathered information and provide clear, ac- tionable information to farmers to support crop management. How it works SMASH is not a single robot, but a series of different devices including a robot, base station, drones and field sensors that
▶ FUTURE FARMING | 20 November 2020
tools are incorporated in the implement be- tween the electrically driven cage rollers, which are split into three sections to allow for skid steering. The application of a 50 kW hydrogen fuel cell will initially be the power source. The idea is to ultimately extend the use of the power unit and the controller, i.e. the “heart and brain” of the robot, to drive other light carriages e.g. for seeding, weed- ing, spraying and scouting purposes.
together provide vital information to help farmers. A farmer can program the task he wants SMASH to do and, while he is in- volved in other activities, this machine can move about autonomously, monitoring crops, detecting and treating diseases, and saving the farmer and his workers signifi- cant time out in the fields manually checking crops.
PHOTO: YANMAR
PHOTO: ROBOTILL
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