Agriculture
The general inspiration with the agricultural projects is to create tools similar to a robot vacuum: they are simple and they can automate certain tasks while still needing some minor help setting up or cleaning after the job is done. They make life easier while not bankrupting you.
The first way to do this is to use the Modular Agricultural Unit (referred to as Modular Units) . Depending on the need of your farm one or several modular units can be used in different configurations. A single modular unit consists of an electrically powered wheel, a battery and a controller. Each unit can exist on its own and not be reliant on external power sources. Users will not have to be dealing with cable management or where to place batteries when building and configuring their tools.
A single modular unit can be used for building load carrying vehicles. The best example of this would be “Rebecca”. This was a prototype built for a farm in southern France. It used a single electric wheel mounted to a bed capable of carrying 250kg. This made transporting tools, seedlings or other agricultural products around the farm a lot less labor intensive. This was especially made clear since the farm was built on several steep hills. As a safety feature the wheel would also brake when it reached a speed of 4km/h. This allowed it to safely go down slopes while also charging the battery.
Using two modular units allows for a small vehicle that can stand on its own. Proudly named the “George” configuration this vehicle can be used in a several ways: load carrying, watering, weeding, manure distribution… With a load carrying capacity of 400kg.
Bigger vehicles that carry heavier loads or that need increased ground traction can be built using several double modular wheel configurations. For example, our current biggest vehicle “Django” uses 4 double modular wheel configurations or 8 modular units in total. This way the vehicle has a total traction power of 16kW or 21hp.
Double wheel configuration
When wheels need to turn a motor is mounted on top to allow for the wheel to turn. This system while proven doesn’t optimally use all of the available power. Another solution exists in mounting two wheels parallel to each other. If the whole wheel assembly needs to turn one wheel turns a little slower until both wheels have the correct orientation. This configuration allows for optimal use of all motors at all times. This wheel assembly configuration will be referred to as the “double modular wheel configuration”.
Controllers
The controllers will come in 4 configurations: individual motor control, remote control, semi-autonomous and fully autonomous.
The individual motor control will be reserved for the “Rebecca” and “George” configuration. A handlebar (or 2 handlebars in the “George” configuration) will control the speed of a single modular unit. The operator has full and precise control over the vehicle. Extra safety features such as a maximum speed or electric brake can be programmed.
For more complex vehicles or operations a remote control can be build. This give the operator access to very simple actions: constant speed forward, make a specified degree turn, lift up an installed tool, activate said tool… This is ideal for farmers who would want to use a George or Django configuration without the need for more (semi) autonomous features.
In a later stage a fully autonomous controller will be designed. This will allow for fully automated tasks such as weeding, watering or the monitoring of crops without the need for human intervention. It will come with a base station to autonomously charge the vehicle.
All controllers will be designed in such a way that they are interchangeable. Depending on the task at hand the best suitable controller can be chosen. This will also, for instance, give farmers the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the machine and the tasks it can perform. After a season a semi-autonomous controller can be acquired to use the semi-autonomous features and later even a fully-autonomous controller.
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