IAM will use this year’s Ploughing to show the Bomford Turner’s Flailbot, it’s remotely operated mower with extendable tracks. Initially launched in Ireland this spring, it will be fresh from its recent demo tour around Ireland.

This machine is targeted at customers who need to maintain hilly, banked or mountainous areas of grass, gorse or general overgrowth.

One of the key features of this machine is its independently extendible tracks that allow it to travel on steeper ground. These can widen the footprint of the machine by 250mm either side, enabling the robot to operate on inclines up to 55°.

To keep the robot in place on these steep inclines, rubber or studded steel tracks are available with automatic track tensioning to ensure optimal gear to track contact. This reduces the risk of a track coming off during work.

There is a range of cutter heads available including green maintenance, snow clearing and agricultural processing. The 1,500mm head floats over the ground with cutting height and angle maintained automatically.

Engine

Power for all this comes from a 40hp Perkins engine. To keep the engine cool, a reversible fan is fitted. The range of the robot from the operator is up to 150m with operating speeds of 0-7km/h.

The unit the operator holds displays real-time data including machine incline, altitude and speed.

In the unfortunate event the machine does roll over, a rollbar is fitted to protect the machine and the engine can be turned off immediately by the operator.

Price of this machine is approximatley €80,000 plus VAT.

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