Kit Franklin from Harper Adams spoke to members of the NI Institute of Agricultural Science and Institution of Agricultural Engineers on Tuesday evening.
Pictured at the event were (from left); Ian Duff, Institution of Agricultural Engineers; Eoin Donnelly, First Trust Bank; Kit Franklin, Harper Adams University; Francis Lively and Campbell Tweed, both from NIIAS.
ADVERTISEMENT
Technology is being developed at Harper Adams University in Shropshire with the aim to run a 35ha arable farm using robots, with no human in-field intervention.
Speaking at a NI Institute of Agricultural Science event on Tuesday, Kit Franklin from Harper Adams said that the new research will build on the Hands-Free Hectare project, which was launched in 2016.
ADVERTISEMENT
Researchers successfully harvested a crop of spring barley in 2017, followed by winter wheat in 2018, without any machinery operators or agronomists entering the field.
Automated machines, such as a 38hp tractor and a 2m-wide combine harvester, completed all field work, with drones and small robots also used to view and sample crops in the field.
“In the near future we hope to be working on a full-scale, hands-free farm where we have multiple fields with various combinable crops, like cereals, peas and beans,” Franklin said.
The new project will be based on a real farm scenario, with uneven ground, irregular-shaped fields and obstacles such as trees and telegraph poles.
However, Franklin acknowledged that covering a larger acreage is a major challenge, as multiple automated tractors will need to work together, and tractors will need to come back to the yard more often for re-fuelling and re-filling seed, fertiliser and spray.
“There are a lot more challenges to face and not all of them have been solved by any means.
“Some of the technology we can re-apply, and some of it needs to be developed from scratch,” he said.
During his presentation, Franklin pointed out that automated technologies on commercial farms already exist, such as with high-value crops in horticulture.
“On cereal farms, I think you will start to see things that are driverless in the next 10 years. Arguably, a drone that you may be flying over your farm already is an autonomous vehicle,” he suggested.
“Our aim with Hands-Free Hectare was to show that robotic farming is not 50 years away,” Franklin said.
This content is available to digital subscribers and loyalty code users only. Sign in to your account, use the code or subscribe to get unlimited access.
However, if you would like to share the information in this article, you may use the headline, summary and link below:
Title: Watch: researchers working on robotic arable farm
Kit Franklin from Harper Adams spoke to members of the NI Institute of Agricultural Science and Institution of Agricultural Engineers on Tuesday evening.
The reader loyalty code gives you full access to the site from when you enter it until the following Wednesday at 9pm. Find your unique code on the back page of Irish Country Living every week.
CODE ACCEPTED
You have full access to the site until next Wednesday at 9pm.
CODE NOT VALID
Please try again or contact support.
Technology is being developed at Harper Adams University in Shropshire with the aim to run a 35ha arable farm using robots, with no human in-field intervention.
Speaking at a NI Institute of Agricultural Science event on Tuesday, Kit Franklin from Harper Adams said that the new research will build on the Hands-Free Hectare project, which was launched in 2016.
Researchers successfully harvested a crop of spring barley in 2017, followed by winter wheat in 2018, without any machinery operators or agronomists entering the field.
Automated machines, such as a 38hp tractor and a 2m-wide combine harvester, completed all field work, with drones and small robots also used to view and sample crops in the field.
“In the near future we hope to be working on a full-scale, hands-free farm where we have multiple fields with various combinable crops, like cereals, peas and beans,” Franklin said.
The new project will be based on a real farm scenario, with uneven ground, irregular-shaped fields and obstacles such as trees and telegraph poles.
However, Franklin acknowledged that covering a larger acreage is a major challenge, as multiple automated tractors will need to work together, and tractors will need to come back to the yard more often for re-fuelling and re-filling seed, fertiliser and spray.
“There are a lot more challenges to face and not all of them have been solved by any means.
“Some of the technology we can re-apply, and some of it needs to be developed from scratch,” he said.
During his presentation, Franklin pointed out that automated technologies on commercial farms already exist, such as with high-value crops in horticulture.
“On cereal farms, I think you will start to see things that are driverless in the next 10 years. Arguably, a drone that you may be flying over your farm already is an autonomous vehicle,” he suggested.
“Our aim with Hands-Free Hectare was to show that robotic farming is not 50 years away,” Franklin said.
If you would like to speak to a member of our team, please call us on 01-4199525.
Link sent to your email address
We have sent an email to your address. Please click on the link in this email to reset your password. If you can't find it in your inbox, please check your spam folder. If you can't find the email, please call us on 01-4199525.
ENTER YOUR LOYALTY CODE:
The reader loyalty code gives you full access to the site from when you enter it until the following Wednesday at 9pm. Find your unique code on the back page of Irish Country Living every week.
SHARING OPTIONS