Robotic Following Cart to Replace Light Duty Tractor Tasks?

[daugen]

Pretty sure this is a tool for production farming, not us hobby farmers who are always looking for more seat time.
automation and gps mapped field software is standard above a certain point in big tractors.
so stands to reason anything labor intensive on a farm is going to be looked at to automate.

the availability of historic farm labor may soon change dramatically.

when your social reality is you have to pay 20 bucks an hour, or more, for harvest labor, in places like the Northeast,
minimizing worker count makes a lot of sense financially.

they now have fully automated driver-less tractor software. I was watching a YT video on farmers attending a trade show with
new equipment and they were joking they would soon be automated out of the drivers's seat, and they didn't like that idea at all.
But I bet their accountants would.

I think anyone in Salinas California who isn't automating is nuts. Farm tech is here and all farmers know you have to invest
to get a return, but show good ROI, completing same tasks with less manpower, unless you're Amish and need to employ your ten kids,
most progressive farmers will embrace automation, if only to keep up.

if the availability of seasonal/migrant labor dries up due to politics, someone or some thing has to get the avocados harvested.

do we need a robotic following cart on our properties?
I think I'd buy a grapple first.

but if I had a grapple and just about all the other implements I wanted,
would I pick one of these to follow my Kubota RTV to haul sticks?
maybe

I'm not sure Gen A is going to learn how to pick up sticks.
much less work for ten hours a day in a hot field

 

[candersen10]

We are increasingly towing in nurseries. Below are two images - one shows our smaller Burro with a mower, the other shows our larger Burro Grande towing about 5000 lbs. Below, also, is a survey.

At the same time, we keep having customers put mowers behind these things, and are trying to figure out how to hit what people want (here's an example of a customer putting a mower behind a Burro

).

Should we build an autonomous mower for a system like this (Could dock to charge, and run 24/7, perpetually in rougher ag / area type areas)?

If yes, should it be smaller (i.e. something like 36 inches wide), and fit on a smaller Burro? Or larger, and only fit on a larger Burro Grande (i.e. something like 48 inches wide)?

Any / All feedback hugely appreciated!! Below is a survey link too. The nos and negatives are very helpful also!!

Burro Autonomous Mowing Survey

We are interested in your feedback to help our team develop and refine the product for this new attachment! This mowing attachment is for commercial use, not residential.

docs.google.com

 

[workinonit]

I saw one at my dealer that just looked like a mower deck but it was an automated RC mower. Program it via GPS to do the job or run it like an RC toy. Made by a popular mower and implement manufacturer. Only difference is it was diesel. I was going to price it but I figured if I did I would probably bring it home. So to answer your question, yes there are people that want them. They are already being produced and sold.

 

[candersen10]

I saw one at my dealer that just looked like a mower deck but it was an automated RC mower. Program it via GPS to do the job or run it like an RC toy. Made by a popular mower and implement manufacturer. Only difference is it was diesel. I was going to price it but I figured if I did I would probably bring it home. So to answer your question, yes there are people that want them. They are already being produced and sold.

Any idea which brands? Certainly see autonomous Zero Turns (Scythe, Greenzie, etc.), then see a lot of smaller residential stuff like Husquvarna, but not as much in the just a bit smaller than a small tractor range doing area / row mowing in ag / row to row type settings.

On my family farm, there is about 50 hours of mowing to be done a week (i.e. something like $2K/week in labor)...
Zero turns can do some of it, but are not ideally suited for a lot of it - mostly done with little BXs or 1025Rs etc.

 

[candersen10]

Mowing steep slopes with a Burro Grande

Has a 48 inch electric deck. Base batteries do 4-5 hours of mowing in thick grass. Can double up.

Has a remote control but in this video is running autonomously.

 

[candersen10]

Anyone mowing stuff like this with their tractor?

Can do above, and autonomously fill in the main areas without touching it

This is all jenky prototype stuff show. Production one:
1. wireless remote control
2. autonomous docking to charge
3. 48 inch electric deck with a ton of power
4. 4 hours of run time in thick grass before charge on base batteries (easy to double)
5. Cost per acre mowed about 20-30% lower than a Kubota BX/L or Deere 1E/R series - and no labor in the mix

 

[MossRoad]

Yes, I mow stuff like that fairly often. It takes about 10 seconds. But I have a 60" front mounted deck on FEL arms that allows the deck to tilt forward and backward, left and right, and up and down independent of the machine. And, I have to be on it.

Pro Tip: Make sure it doesn't take out the wife's petunias. (ask how I know that)

 

[candersen10]

Yes, I mow stuff like that fairly often. It takes about 10 seconds. But I have a 60" front mounted deck on FEL arms that allows the deck to tilt forward and backward, left and right, and up and down independent of the machine. And, I have to be on it.

Pro Tip: Make sure it doesn't take out the wife's petunias. (ask how I know that)

I have mowed many petunias by mistake...all the people in my family that like plants don't think about how to put those plants out of the way of machines....


In this case, what this thing is:
1. Costs $10-12 an acre to run (Burro Grazer likely to list for around $40K + 3800/year for autonomy/rtk/cell/warranty + whatever electricity costs - at .15/ kwhr would cost about $110 bucks to mow 100 acres 8 passes in a year) - more running lowers that cost
2. Can do extreme slopes, and big areas
3. Autonomous for areas and rows, including ones where canopies cover GPS signal entirely
4. Autonomous Docking to charge
5. other modes possible (like see a person, send you a text - patrol overnight, etc.)
6. 12 HP on drive wheels, 7.2 HP on mower motors, 48 inches wide, so can fit in pretty tight places


Really designed for production ag (grapes, apples, berries, tree nurseries) where there is access to power for docking, and the hour meters on mowing macheins peopel are running goes up by like 1K / year. I.e. if you love sitting on a mower in the heat, this thing is not for you. If you have a big crew, and want to cut costs, this would be for you...

 

[candersen10]

Here's how it is looking now (deck obviously is a test variant):

Unlocked faster speeds so now running 5-6 MPH while mowing autonomously.

 

[candersen10]

Setup tool (draw perimeters, or train them on machine, if there are rowsd (GPS denied) mark starts where you have GPS, and autonomy fills in.

Basiclally, Roomba for mowing for a farm.

Deck setup (ballparkish)

basically scaled as a fully autonomous Kubota BX with docking to run also.