VIDEO | Field robot experience: ‘The FarmDroid FD20 payed for itself in just one season’

Damien Blondel owns a 220-hectare farm. He has been farming organic since 2009. He has decided to diversify; currently he grows about fifteen different crops. One of the main crops in the Champagne region are sugar beets. For more than 10 years, Damien has been cultivating about 20 hectares of sugar beets.

Over the years, he has seen his production costs increase. In early 2021, he invested in the FarmDroid FD20 field robot in order to bring down his production costs. At the same time, the robot offers a solution to the labour shortage.

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How did you learn about the FarmDroid FD20?

“I discovered this machine on Youtube 5 years ago. Per year, we put in between 150 and 250 man hours of hoeing per hectare. The labour shortage became so acute that I had to find a solution. In 2021 I decided to invest in the FarmDroid FD20 robot without having tried it first.”

How do you control this machine?

“Since the robot is autonomous, it does not have a remote control. With a joystick, though, you can move it around. However, to move the robot to and from the field, I use a tractor. The robot can be easily and quickly hitched to the tractor you use to transport it.

To monitor the robot remotely, I have an application on my phone that allows me to see in real time what thed robot is doeing. I can make sure that everything is going well thanks to a camera placed underneath the machine.”

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How has FarmDroid FD20 evolved since you started working with it?

“There have been several key improvements in the last two years. The first one is the ergonomics of the console and the application. By adding a French version and improving the visualization, it is now much easier to program the robot.

The second improvement is the way the robot can operate in the field. Initially, it could only weed in the direction the machine had sown. Now the robot can weed in both directions, giving much better results.

And the last thing that has been improved is the possibility of working with other crops, such as rapeseed.”

How are service and maintenance organized?

“I am in direct contact with my dealer for most breakdowns. If the problem persists, the manufacturer has direct access to the machine’s data and history. They can therefore intervene quickly and load updates if necessary. Technical issues are often solved in less than a day.

I pay only for the phone subscription, spare parts, and new options. Service and upgrades are not chargeable. I spend about € 700 per year on maintenance and € 10 per month for the subscription.”

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What was the biggest impact on the way you manage weeding?

“The machine makes my life easier in terms of labour capacity. At the same time, although the robot works autonomously, I am constantly connected to it to monitor the work. On the one hand, I am now more flexible, but at the same time I have to better anticipate what is happening in the field.

The FarmDroid FD20 needs perfect soil conditions to be able to work properly. Lucerne, corn, and rapeseed are crops that are known to have a root system that remains in the soil for several years. That can get stuck in the robot’s weeding tools. So, I had to change my crop rotation system. I also spend more time preparing the seedbed, with one or two extra passes, so that the robot can work in the best possible conditions.”

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How do you use the robot?

“This year I grew 21 hectares of sugar beets. The robot made 7 to 8 passes on this plot. To start with, I perform false sowing once or twice. Then the actual sowing is being done followed by blind cutlivation. TUntil the time when the leaves of the beet fully cover the soil, 4 to 5 passes are required. I also planted 7 hectares of rapeseed to have the FarmDroid work in.

The robot works 24 hours a day and almost 7 days a week

During the whole planting and weeding season, the robot stays in the field. It works 24 hours a day and almost 7 days a week. Since the robot can only cover about 3 hectares per day, I have no choice but to deploy it 24/7. I only take it from the field during the off-season, and when I must switch from the seeding configuration to the weeding configuration, which takes about an hour and a half.

How do you rate the quality of weeding compared to your old system?

“In terms of capacity, it’s not comparable, the tractor is better. With the robot, I must anticipate more, but that’s not a problem because in return it gives me more flexibility and time for other activities.

The robot has considerably increased the quality of my weeding

Before, I was working with a Garford inter-row weeder equipped with a camera guidance system. The FarmDroid FD20 is clearly more precise. It knows the exact position of each seed it has planted, which allows it to weed before the seed germinates and all around the seed. The robot has considerably increased the quality of my weeding.

In addition, the robot is much lighter than a tractor, and it is self-sufficient in energy. Because I now save around 200 labour hours per hectare per year, plus fuel costs, the robot pays for itself after just one season!

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In which areas would you improve the robot?

“When days are short, with little sunlight, the solar panels on the robot do not provide enough energy to run the FarmDroid FD20 for 24 hours. I’m waiting for the manufacturer to integrate an extra battery to cover the beginning of the season.

Then I would like to see it work on other crops, like this year when it started on rapeseed. I would like to try it in sunflowers next year.

And finally, although we farm organically,, there are biocontrol products and fertilizers that we apply to the sugar beets. If the robot could be equipped with a tank and a spot spraying system, that would save even more on our costs.”