Unmanned autonomous tractor ‘mainly interesting for soil preparation’

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This year, a group of Dutch arable farmers, bulb growers, contractors, and a livestock farmer were introduced to the opportunities and limitations of autonomous tractors for their operations. Thanks to the NPPL project and Wageningen University & Research (WUR), and Dutch companies De Bruijn Mechanisatie in Zundert GPX Solutions in Erichem provided a Steyr Expert 4130 cvt equipped with an iQuus Control system. The introduction went under the supervision of NPPL expert Koen van Boheemen, a researcher in Precision Agriculture & Agro Robotics at Wageningen University & Research and an arable farmer himself. Seven farms took part.

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From orchards to fields

GPX Solutions equipped the standard Steyr Expert 4130 cvt with their iQuus Control system, which can turn almost any tractor into one that can work without a driver. The term ‘Control’ indicates that it does not have a safety bumper at the front, meaning a person must always remain in the cabin or in close proximity to the tractor for safety. The manufacturer also offers a version with a safety package called iQuus Autonomy. A vehicle with this system can, under certain conditions, perform tasks without supervision.

These systems were initially developed for use in fruit orchards to carry out repetitive tasks following a pre-planned or pre-ridden route, year after year. This presented a challenge for open-field use, which the manufacturer was eager to tackle.

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Thrown into the deep

Arable farmer Brian Salomé in IJzendijke (Zeeland) had the opportunity to be the first to test the system in mid-August. He wanted to use the autonomous Steyr to shallowly till a second-year grass seed stubble after the area had been mulched. However, how do you instruct an autonomous tractor, which usually follows a previously driven route, to till every 3 meters and maintain a specific headland width?

The solution was to drive the route initially with a driver in the driver’s seat. Salomé solved this by attaching a mulcher to the Steyr and, while mulching the field, simultaneously recorded the route for tilling. Salomé clearly hadn’t anticipated this when he was invited to test an autonomous tractor. “I had higher expectations, especially regarding the immediate use of AB-lines and the automatic creation of route maps.”

GPX Solutions quickly addressed this by creating a route map for Salomé’s next field based on four AB-lines (eight points) and the desired working width. “This has to be done every time. For the tilling on the field, I specified a working width of 2.90 meters. But if I want to plant at 3 meters next year, GPX will need to create, send, and load a new route map.”

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Need for independent route planning

Despite GPX Solutions’ swift intervention, the need to relinquish route planning was a breaking point for most test farms. The majority of them handle route planning in-house. Sjaak Huetink of Huetink Flower bulbs in Lemelerveld explained, “On our farm, we‘ve been planning all field boundaries, AB-lines, work lines, and tasks for the past ten years, often during winters but always well in advance of the actual work. We know precisely whether an AB-line is for soil preparation, planting, or crop protection. I don’t want to give up that planning, and I don’t want to rely on someone else for it.”

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Unmanned or autonomous?

The high expectations of the test farms were also evident when using the remote control for the iQuus Control system. The green start button on the remote control must be continuously pressed while the autonomous tractor is working, as this specific test tractor did not have a safety package. Some quickly found makeshift solutions for this requirement, while others, like Huetink, had a manned tractor follow the Steyr for subsequent operations. The driver of the following tractor managed the iQuus remote control.

This fact also influenced the opinions of some NPPL participants regarding autonomy. Jan Pieter Evenhuis remarked, “The tractor didn’t have a safety package, which means you need to stay with it and keep the green button on the remote control pressed continuously. It ultimately depends on your expectations, but the system can operate all tractor functions, and that’s about it. The system is not intelligent or self-learning, and you have to be present all day. Therefore, I see it more as an unmanned tractor than a fully autonomous system.”

Nonetheless, Evenhuis was enthusiastic and surprised by the technology. “I was pleasantly surprised by what it could already do. It’s easy to come up with such an idea, but executing it is another matter. In my opinion, they are well on their way. However, the functionalities in open fields still seem limited to me. In our case, an unmanned tractor could handle grassland mulching in the spring and perform simple soil preparation tasks, such as for a plow or a cultivator. Tasks that don’t require high speeds and aren’t too complex.”

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Preparation pays off

Stef Ruiter of Ruiter-Wever bulb company in Andijk (North Holland) was able to benefit from the experiences and learning of other farms. Thanks to good preparation, he quickly appreciated the potential of autonomous technology on his farm and in his operations.

Like Huetink, Ruiter prepares route maps at his convenience, so there is no need for further preparation just before an operation. However, he had to hand over route planning this time, but GPX Solutions promised to develop a feature for farmers to create their own route maps.

Ruiter envisions the potential for an unmanned tractor in planting bulbs. “We mulch just before planting, often in continuous work passes. In such cases, it’s not very complicated to monitor an unmanned mulcher combination from the planting machine. You can constantly observe the work the mulcher is doing from the planting machine and make adjustments if the soil is too coarse or fine. Dynamic adjustments, in other words.” While some test farms prefer the concept of an unmanned standard tractor over an autonomous vehicle without a cabin, Ruiter currently favors an unmanned standard tractor for its versatility. “With this system, you have a tractor that can work unmanned in the field. But if you switch a button, you can also use it with a trailer for transporting bulbs on the road.”

Particularly suited for soil preparation

The majority of the testing activities took place on arable farms and bulb growers. They see the most potential for autonomy in soil preparation tasks, especially when such operations are followed by more complex tasks with a tractor driven by an operator. This preference arises primarily due to the need for supervision, both for safety and to ensure the machine operates effectively and maintains work quality. This latter aspect is crucial for farmers when it comes to unmanned operations.

Agricultural machinery manufacturers are acutely aware of these considerations and showcased solutions at the recent Agritechnica trade fair in Hannover, Germany. These solutions include sensors on cultivators and disc harrows to detect issues such as blockages and tooth breakages. Additionally, there were demonstrations of cameras that monitor seedbed evenness and the mowing quality of disc mowers.