FARM ROBOTICS - Blade RUNNERS

Modular, upgradeable, general purpose ag robots that cost about the same as an ATV are not quite here yet, but they are closer than ever.

Words DARREN BAGULEY

Whether you are spot spraying with herbicide or chipping out manually, there are few jobs on a farm more mind numbingly boring or back-breaking hard than weeding, and farmers and farm hands hate it. But what if you had a farm hand that tirelessly went out into the fields day after day and conscientiously went up and down the rows weeding without complaining?

While this may sound like an impossibility, the University of Sydney’s Australian Centre for Field Robotics (ACFR) has been working on just such a beast and they are scheduled to be commercially available in about a year.

Actually, it’s two beasts.

MEET SWAGBOT & DIGITAL FARMHAND

Since the first field trials in 2016, ACFR has been developing two agricultural robots – the pastoral-focused SwagBot and the agriculturefocused Digital Farmhand. They recently spun the technology off into Agerris, a company tasked with full commercialisation of an easily modifiable, longendurance, electric platform fitted with smart sensing and tools, to do real time crop and soil intelligence, and automated weeding.

According to Agerris CEO and University of Sydney Professor Salah Sukkarieh: “The Digital Farmhand project started six years ago with funding from a donor at the University of Sydney who was interested in building robotic tools for smallholder farmers both in Australia and overseas. It started out that way but now it is a more elaborate tool not just for small holder farmers but larger growers as well, predominantly focusing on horticulture -– vegetable and tree crops.”

It comes in a base form, which is just a remotecontrol platform that farmers can add whatever tools they want, whether it’s tines, seeders, sprayers, all the way through to intelligent weeding and spraying modules as well.

“For example, it can now do per plant weeding or spraying instead of blanket spraying using herbicide,” says Salah. “Another tool is a mechanical weeder – almost like a digital chipping hoe. It finds and removes individual weeds mechanically so you don’t need to use herbicide.”

ALL TERRAIN: Nimbler than the Digital Farmhand, the SwagBot can pivot within its own length and handles rough terrain better.

The Digital Farmhand can do all this remotely as the unit has autopilot functionality that enables the farmer to basically tell it to go to Paddock A or B. Once it is in the paddock it has collision avoidance sensors and capabilities and it is also able to go up and down crop or tree rows without the need for GPS guidance. “There are different grades of sensors depending on the grower and the size of the plot and by using some Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning the Digital Farmhand can do things like crop yield estimations for vegetable and tree crops,” says Salah. “It’s not yet available but we’re also working on pest and disease detection.”

THE LOWDOWN

With a maximum speed of 8 km/h, the Digital Farmhand can run up to 15 hours on solar electric. This gives continuous on-farm coverage but it’s small enough to fit on the back of a ute. A farmer can take it from one paddock to another to save power. In latitudes, or on days where the solar is not as effective, the Digital Farmhand gets about seven to 10 hours of battery life, depending on what it is doing, and the type and condition of the soil.

“In its current configuration it’s easy for us to add more batteries and make it go further,” Salah explains. “But the aim is that the farmer gets a full day’s work out of the machine and at the end of the day they plug it into a power point to charge it up for the next day. When the solar panels are on you get constant recharge of the battery so it’s able to go for longer.”

Using the highly scientific method of piling four people onto it, the Digital Farmhand can carry up to 400kg and because the electric motor has immense amounts of torque from standstill it is able to tow loads as heavy as a Landcruiser.

CAPABLE HANDS: Once the Digital Farmhand is in the paddock it has collision avoidance sensors and can go up and down crop rows without the need for GPS guidance.

“Obviously being battery operated, hauling heavy loads reduces battery life,” says Salah. “So, we’re also looking at the option of adding a small diesel generator when extra grunt is needed, and a tray for use during harvest.”

The spindly looking SwagBot started development at roughly the same time as the Digital Farmhand and is designed for remotely or autonomously working with livestock grazing operations and more difficult terrain. The SwagBot has also been spun out into Agerris and the new version of the robot is now undergoing field validation.

The Digital Farmhand is good for doing straight line manoeuvres on relatively flat country and row crops whether they’re vegetables, tree crops, or broadacre. The SwagBot is nimbler – it can pivot within its own length and handles rough terrain better.

“Just recently we completed a set of trials where we looked at how it could move along dirt farm roads avoiding animals, people and moving amongst trees, as well approximating various livestock situations,” says Salah.

The SwagBot has a top speed of 20 km/h and has been field tested in environments across central NSW. Like the Digital Farmhand, the SwagBot can be loaded with a range of sensors according to its function. During a two-year trial, the farmbot was used to herd livestock while thermal and vision sensors that detect changes in body temperature and gait identified sick or injured animals. It can also tow a standard trailer which can be loaded with firewood, fencing materials and tools – anything that is needed by a farmer.

AUTOMATION ON FARMS

Automation has become commonplace when it comes to high-end farm equipment such as headers and large tractors, but one of the barriers to deploying autonomous equipment has been the need for farmers to adhere to standard regulations. According to Salah, with the increasing adoption of drones over the last several years the situation has changed significantly.

“There are now published standards about what needs to happen for an autonomous system to operate on farm, ranging from what has to happen on the robot. For example, a blinking light on the front, and colours that light up to indicate that it's operable and moving, right through to how the farmer has to interact with the robot. That has made it easier for us to operate the Digital Farmhand and SwagBot.

Not without reason, the advent of robots has led to concern about loss of jobs in rural areas. Salah notes that many pastoral operations and farms struggle to attract workers and suggests that the jobs of the future in agricultural areas will be in maintaining and supporting agricultural robots.

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

As part of a program to bridge the digital divide in rural areas, the NSW State Government has funded Agerris to take the Digital Farmhand to rural schools.

“We put the real robots in school and leave them there for a few terms along with some study guides,” says Salah. “The kids thus learn about robotics in agriculture – they run the robot and do a whole bunch of different things with it, including giving it tasks.”

Right now, Agerris has several Digital Farmhands working with growers doing weeding, spraying and crop intelligence on a contract basis. However, Salah says Agerris is “embedding the farmbot into the farm operation so that the service eventually turns into a handover”. Can you get one right now? “Not quite, but it is close,” says Salah. “The aim of Agerris, with much investment, is to speed up the process of getting the Digital Farmhand into production. We are hoping that in just over a year, farmers will be able to walk into a dealership and buy one. A Digital Farmhand with a full sensor loadout could go for $200,000, even $300,000 but we’re aiming to get the base model down to around $50,000.” •