FarmDroid launches spot-application system

“With the increased focus on reducing the use of harmful chemicals in agriculture, we saw a potential for the robot to help conventional farmers too”, FarmDroid says. “The spot application system reduces the use of chemicals drastically. Since we know the exact position of each plant in the field, we can spray directly on the plant.”

FarmDroid emphasises that only a small amount of chemicals is needed for this type of application. “We eliminate the need for spraying the entire field to kill weeds because we can keep the rest of the field clean with mechanical weeding.”

Dual front wheel system

FarmDroid now also offers growers a dual front wheel system, called DFW. Farmers will get a FarmDroid FD20 robot with 4 wheels, when they choose this system. With the DFW, they can get add an extra row. The front wheel of the original FarmDroid FD20 normally creates a lane in the field. The DFM system is more suitable for seedbeds, and can be adapted to work with smaller row distances.

Growers can change an existing robot into a model with 4 wheels, or they can have the robot configured with 4 wheels from the start. With DFW, growers can adapt the row distance to their traditional seeding method.

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Hilly and rugged terrains

FarmDroid currently also has an active front wheel system, called AFW. With AFW, farmers get a FarmDroid FD20 robot with an active front wheel. It is designed to work in hilly and rugged terrains. To compensate for the hilly terrain, the robot’s front wheel can be tilted either way. In this way, the robot can easily work in fields that are steep.

The AFW system constantly monitors the pressure on its two engines and evens it out so that the pressure is always fifty-fifty. If the robot detects that one engine uses 60% capacity and the other only 40%, it will tilt the front wheel to a specific angle, so that the pressure is evened out and both engines use 50% of their capacity. Growers can change an existing robot into a model with an active front wheel, or they can have their FD20 configured with an active front wheel from the start.