Yanmar launches autonomous vineyard spraying robot

20-10-2021 | Field robots | News

The Yanmar YV01 is specifically designed to meet the needs of vineyard owners. - Photo: Yanmar

The Yanmar YV01 autonomous spraying robot can ascend and descend slopes of up to 45%.

Yanmar is introducing the YV01 autonomous spraying robot, which has been developed in cooperation with European vineyards. Due to its design and state of the art components the robot can ascend and descend slopes of up to 45%. According to Yanmar this is a major advantage for growers in certain terrains. The YV01 is also specificaly designed for use in vineyards with narrow paths and with smaller vines.

Less compaction

The robot moves autonomously up and down the rows and can handle slopes of 45%. - Photo: Yanmar — The robot moves autonomously up and down the rows and can handle slopes of 45%. – Photo: Yanmar

The YV01 weighs 1 ton. According to Yanmar this is “extremely light compared with other agricultural robots”. Compaction, which can be a major problem for winegrowers when using vineyard machinery, is therefore reduced to a minimum, says the manufacturer.

Using GPS-RTK navigation technology, the robot works without a driver. It is powered by a Honda IGX 800 air-cooled gas engine that delivers 27 hp. The driving speed is 4 km/h. The spray tank has a capacity of 200 liters.

Electrostatic spraying

So-called electrostatic spraying, where a static electric charge is induced in each emitted drop, which causes it to be attracted to the plant that has a neutral charge – is to ensure all surfaces of the plant – exposed or hidden – are treated efficiently and economically. With this technology, less chemicals are used.

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According to Dana van Kammen of Yanmar Europe, the company plans to offer demonstrations of the current model to wine growers in France and especially in the Champagne area. “We have exhibited the robot at Viteff last week in France and we will initially focus on this country for the introduction of the production models in 2022. Next year we plan to distribute directly to growers and deliver robots that are specially made “on order” for a specific customer.”

In 2023 serial production will take place. The purchase price will be announced later.