Robotic harvester on trial
Robotic harvester on trial
Bringing space age
technology down to earth
could help farmers to cut
harvesting costs and
manufacturers to stay
competitive. Stephen Howe
explains
ROBOTIC self-propelled harvesting of grass and cereals could be possible within eight to 10 years, says New Hollands executive vice-president and chief technical officer, Alberto Pianta.
Speaking at the Food Systems of the Future conference, at Purdue University, Indiana, in the heartland of Americas grain belt, Mr Pianta said that despite the downturn in machinery sales on both sides of the Atlantic, New Holland was continuing to invest heavily in research and development. Only by doing so could the company provide the sophisticated machinery needed by growers to reduce production costs and compete in the world market.
"When it comes to developing new machines, our watchwords are better, faster and cheaper. If New Holland is to remain at the forefront of the world machinery market it must sell products which are better for farmers in terms of increased efficiency and service back up," said Mr Pianta.
"We must also be faster in responding to market needs as well as at a lower cost." he said.
Achieving lower costs means supplying product at an acceptable price to customers and reducing manufacturing costs in order to survive and prosper as a company, said Mr Pianta.
Investing in research to study the potential of the latest space age technology was one way of achieving those aims, he said.
New Holland has been working with the National Robotics Engineering Consortium at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – the organisation charged with bringing NASA technology developed for outer space down to earth.
And the first fruits of the partnership were announced last week in the shape of the Demeter robotic windrower.
Based on the New Holland 2550 SpeedRower self-propelled machine, the Demeter uses global positioning and video cameras to guide its work by day and night.
Information received by the GPS, provides details of field shape, terrain and location of the windrower within the field. The video cameras detect the line of cut, keep the vehicle on course and detect any obstacles which may be in the way. All data is stored by the Demeters on-board computers which are used to keep the vehicle on course, turn it at headlands or to stop it in the event of an engine malfunction or blockages.
The windrower also shuts down automatically if an obstacle is detected in its path.
The biggest challenge now facing researchers is to improve sensor reliability to cope with changing crop and weather conditions, said Mr Pianta.
Provided that can be achieved, the Demeter could be a common sight in some parts of the world, he forecast.
"There are many regions where large tracts of forage need to be harvested quickly before the quality deteriorates, including parts of the US, Canada, Brazil and Argentina.
"Such automation will help contractors and farmers achieve higher, consistent levels of productivity 24 hours a day during the crucial forage harvesting period," he said.
The development of a robotic combine is further away. Making such machines economic to operate will require a doubling in the capacity of existing top-of-the-range models, explained Mr Pianta.
Meanwhile, New Holland is concentrating on developing its tractor line-up. A front suspension system is expected to be announced soon and a high-powered tractor on rubber tracks within two years. *