It's difficult to find a reliable workforce these days. Self-driving technology could relieve some of the pressure by taking over more menial tasks around farms, such as operating sprayers or driving tractor-trailer caravans.
The latter is a unique opportunity for farmers, said Maynard Factor, vice president of business development for Kratos Defense & Security Solutions' unmanned systems division. Kratos' self-driving technology is being used in military platoon travel, where several unmanned vehicles track a human-driven vehicle. Currently, Kratos is repositioning for the agricultural market.
“Everyone seems to have the same challenge of dealing with the driver shortage issue,” Factor said. “We partnered with Mindac Farmers Cooperative, a granulated sugar manufacturer in North Dakota. We have seven or eight piles of sugar beets that we truck around.”
Sensors on the driverless vehicle direct mechanical levers retrofitted to the truck's existing controls to turn the truck or move it faster or slower. A kit installed on the lead vehicle provides data and acts as a waypoint forward.
Drivers can adjust settings such as speed and track spacing (typically 300 to 500 feet). Up to three self-driving trucks (according to Minnesota and North Dakota law) can travel together on the highway, but they must manually turn around once they reach their destination. Factor said the technology works well for regular transportation routes, such as taking product to local grain elevators.
long term focus
Modern self-driving cars use technology such as lidar, radar, and stereo cameras to navigate the roads and avoid hazards. Machine manufacturers envision a future where autonomy is the norm. Kendal Quandahl, precision field team manager for Case IH, emphasized that this is a long-term focus for the brand.
“If you look at the evolution of precision technology from the guidance of 20 years ago to what we'll see in the next five, 10, 15 years, it's building through a path from automation to autonomy,” she says. . “We want more machines to do more jobs, reproducibly, efficiently, and better than humans.”
Brad Rosen, co-founder of Nodar, which designs stereo camera self-driving kits, said agricultural equipment is particularly suited to unmanned technology because it moves at low speeds. Rosen emphasized activities such as driving grain trucks and “chasing sloths.”
“As long as the machine has an autonomous control system – accelerator, steering and brakes – it can be retrofitted,” Rosen says. “All you need is a headlamp.”
While some brands design their systems around lidar or radar, Rosen said Nodar uses stereo cameras because they have a longer viewing range and are cheaper than lidar. However, visual obstructions such as debris can impede its effectiveness. Nodar's twin-camera system calculates up to 50 frames per second, analyzing depth and adjusting vehicle controls accordingly.
automatic spraying
Spraying specialty crops is also a repetitive task that could benefit from unmanned technology. Sean Sunberg, who leads John Deere's high-value crops business integration, will further expand this opportunity. Although it is possible, vineyards and orchards are difficult to navigate due to the many obstacles.
“Some areas are pretty remote. You're working in a canopy environment. A lot of times you don't get a good cell signal and your GPS is degraded or rejected,” Samberg said with John Deere. We talk about GUSS, a global electric unmanned spray system co-launched by GUSS Automation.
This machine uses LIDAR and GPS to detect its surroundings. Before entering the field, the operator will set up her GPS perimeter and create a map. The vehicle then navigates autonomously using telemetry and built-in sensors.
“The rider is constantly scanning. It identifies obstacles. It basically looks 30 feet in front of the machine. Based on the algorithms we built in, it knows what tree trunks look like. ,” says Samberg.
This technology allows farmers to do more with less. “One person can monitor up to eight machines at once. It's certainly going to be busy, but it can be done,” Samberg says. “Someone will bring chemicals.” [to refill the machines] When you need it. That's exactly the premise of GUSS. Requires approximately constant uptime. You should continue spraying while running for 45 minutes to an hour. ”
