Autonomous Vehicles, Farm Machinery

World’s first driverless machine ready for production

A fully autonomous machine especially designed by Dutch company Conver for the greens and agriculture industry has been launched into the European market and will enter the production stage in 2016.

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The self-driving, self-propelled machine named Greenbot had its official unveiling at international trade fair Agritechnica early last month.  

According to Conver, the Greenbot has been designed to perform repetitive and non- complex tasks such as mowing, spraying and fertilising on farms or golf courses.

In addition to freeing up personnel to perform other jobs, it allows operators to cut down on labour costs, which is becoming a major issue for most farming operations.

The machine has been installed with an advanced GPS technology designed by sister company Probotiq called Teach and Playback which allows the machine to follow an exact path set out by a human operator.

All the operator needs to do is drive around the field once with a tractor and required implement all the while recording the exact actions, and the Greenbot remembers every step taken including driving, steering, accelerating, and even raising and lowering the implement.

Operators can then playback the recorded actions as many times as they want and the Greenbot will mimic every step to carry out the task at hand.

Conver says the Greenbot is capable of remembering hundreds of actions in its memory capacity.

The Greenbot operates via remote control and a touch screen display mounted on the side of the machine.  According to Conver, operating the Greenbot is a breeze, allowing operators to start up the machine and get it working in less than five minutes.

In addition, the machine is also equipped with safety mechanisms in the form of ultrasonic sensors and radars to detect on-coming obstacles.  As it senses anything coming on to its path, it slows down or stops automatically and alerts the operator via text message.

The front of the Greenbot is equipped with a category 1 hitch capable of lifting loads up to 750 kg while the category 2 hitch at the rear has a maximum capacity of 1,500 kg.

The Greenbot is available in two different widths: 1.3 metres and 1.8 metres. Ground clearance is 35cm, although higher profile tyres can be fitted to increase the clearance.

It is powered by a 3.4 litre Perkins/FPT engine equipped with selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology providing an output of 100hp. Four-wheel steering allows for maximum manoeuvrability.

The Greenbot is priced from 120,000 (about AUD 181,000).

Video: Conver

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