Video | First AgXeed robot tractor delivered in the Netherlands

Vegetable grower Peter van Osch was initially sceptical about using the robot tractor. “Too far out of my league,” he says. After a tip-off, he nevertheless took a look at the development of the robotic tractor by the Dutch company AgXeed. His interest in the autonomous tractor was piqued. He sees the advantages of a robotic tractor on his farm, such as labour savings and working 24 hours a day. In addition, because the robot rides on tracks, there is less rutting.

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Use Agxeed robot tractor all year round

Van Osch first uses the robot tractor for preparing the land for the cultivation of various types of lettuce and lilies. This includes disk harrowing, deep milling, tillering and eventually ploughing.
The grower wants to use the robot tractor all year round; preparing the land in spring and sowing green manure later in the season. The emphasis is on intensive tillage, work that must be done at low speed and costs a lot of labour.

Working safely with a robot tractor

Being able to work safely with the robot tractor is an important condition for the vegetable grower. He wants to put the robot on the field and be able to go home without having to worry about it. He can then monitor the robot from a distance.

Because the robot tractoris equipped with sensors and a safety bumper that detects obstacles, Van Osch is convinced that AgXeed has put safety first. “Yet it is still a bit exciting,” says the grower.

In 2020, Future Farming had the opportunity to be the first to see the Agxeed robotic tractor at work: autonomously subsoiling and spading a field. Read the full article here.

Agile tracked chassis for carrying capacity

Van Osch opted for a tracked chassis because of its carrying capacity and manoeuvrability. One disadvantage of tracks is transport. The AgXeed robot tractor must be transported with a low loader. According to Van Osch, this does not outweigh the advantages of the autonomous tractor in the field.

The robot tractor has no variable track width. In the future, manufacturer AgXeed will investigate whether it can mount narrower tracks under a hoeing machine, for example.

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Operating and monitoring the AgXeed robot

Van Osch has not yet trained an employee to operate and monitor the robot tractor. The vegetable company will initially receive feedback from manufacturer AgXeed and Dutch importer Rovadi. Subsequently, an employee will be trained to get the most out of the robotic tractor and analyse the data that comes from its use.

The Agxeed field robot is in the Future Farming buyers guide. You can find all the technical specifications, more photos and videos there. Click here to go directly to the buyers guide.