Candidate field robot concepts
On these pages we list a selection of six concepts that qualify for the prize. Go to the Future Farming website for an up-to-date overview of all the concepts and prototypes of field robots. The final selection of “Best field robot concept 2020” will also be announced there.
iTarra
multifunctional robot tractor
Maker The Irish inventor David Doran built this tractor at the Acres Machinery company, which is based in Acres Townland in County Roscommon in Ireland Task(s) With iTarra, David Doran wants to offer a ready-made platform for enhousiastic agri- cultural implement manufacturers who want to offer their customers an autono- mous concept. How it works iTarra is a fully autonomous and electrically driven crawler tractor. The prototype is equipped with a diesel engine supplying up to 110 kW of electrical power for
implements. Two rubber tracks are driven by a hydrostatic drive, with a maximum towing capacity of 12 tons. The next ver- sion will have a capacity of around 250 kW with an electric drive for the crawler chas- sis. The autonomous navigation system was developed together with Topcon, and works with GPS and camera systems. The vehicle is able to steer accurately with up to 20mm accuracy, both in the farmyard and in the field.
Nissan’s Aigamo robot duck Maker
An engineer working for carmaker Nissan. Task(s) In the past, rice farmers in Asia have always used ducks as an alternative to pesticides to keep weeds out of their rice fields. The ducks tear up the weeds, eat harmful insects and their manure acts as a fertiliser. The ro- bot duck will reportedly do the same things a real duck would do. How it works The robot weighs 1.5 kilograms and is about 60 centimetres square. It identifies its loca- tion mainly through GPS to navigate across rice paddies. It is equipped with two rotat- ing rubber brushes on its underside that act as duck’s feet, which also oxygenate the
Jumping CropHopper robot
water by stirring it up and preventing weeds from taking root.
Maker CropHopper is the brainchild of Fred Mill- er, the CEO and founder of HayBeeSee. Task(s) Part drone, part hopper, the CropHopper is designed to jump across fields to scan crops, identify weeds and diseases, as well as carry out mechanical weeding and spot spraying. How it works By combining the propellers of a quad- copter with an ingenious jumping mech- anism, CropHopper is able to quickly trav- el across fields and work for much longer than a drone. It weighs 3 kg, costs € 15/ ha, can work without an operator in crops all season long and it has the potential to also automatically handle weeds, pests and diseases. Key to its operation and en- durance is an ingenious carbon-fibre jumping leg.
▶ FUTURE FARMING | 20 November 2020 53
PHOTO: NISSAN
PHOTO: HAYBEESEE
PHOTO: ACRES MACHINERY
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