![The agricultural robot, a revolution for field crops, was tested in Nièvre [Vidéo]](https://euro.dayfr.com/content/uploads/2024/05/23/5232cb8482.jpg)
![The agricultural robot, a revolution for field crops, was tested in Nièvre [Vidéo]](https://euro.dayfr.com/content/uploads/2024/05/23/ed631e4869.jpg)
As part of a technical day of the Nièvre Chamber of Agriculture, the Dutch company AgXeed came to present, Tuesday May 14 in Narcy, an innovation which could revolutionize the daily lives of farmers. The AgBot is an autonomous and unsupervised robot that prepares soil without human intervention on large crops.
“What the robot is doing, dethatching the plot, does not require any particular skills. On a farm, in general, this is the work you do when you are 14 years old or when you are we entrust it to a trainee”, explains Jean-Charles Zwaenepoel, the farmer who lent a plot, in Narcy, for the AgBot demonstration, Tuesday May 14.
“The same evolution as the transition from horse to tractor”
“My grandfather spent his day behind a horse. My father saw the tractors coming when he was 15 years old. Today, with the arrival of robots, we are experiencing the same kind of evolution as the transition from horse to tractor. It’s been three years since I asked AgXeed for them to come and do a demonstration in Nièvre.”
premium Red alert for Nivernais cereal growers, strangled by the fall in the price of wheat Article reserved for subscribers
Jonathan Muller, sales representative, remote control in hand to activate the robot, responded to the request and presented the advantages of the machine. “As with any robot, it is necessary to make some preparations before it gets to work. There, it is necessary to survey the plot to be worked.” The map of the plot is digitized, the tool attached to the robot is recorded.
“Then, you must, on a portal, through a computer or an application, create the robot’s mission. You can observe, remotely, the progress of the task in percentages. The robot can chain several tasks, in different plots , to the extent that it does not use public roads”, explains Jonathan Muller, who praises the autonomy offered to farmers.
When everything is configured, the robot, which must be transported to the plot, works entirely alone. He doesn’t need a shepherd.
“With current tractors, even with GPS, you need a driver to stay on course. Sometimes, for seventeen hours, he does just that. This will be a significant comfort for farmers,” rejoices Jean-Charles Zwaenepoel . “Progress comes to us and, in addition, the manufacturer assumes responsibility if there is an accident on the plot, since there is no need for on-site surveillance.”
premium Nièvre farmers drowned in red tape: “We cannot administer nature”
In terms of safety, the robot is equipped with a battery of sensors: a Lidar (laser remote sensing) on the top, ultrasonic sensors and radar sensors integrated into a contact-sensitive bumper. During the demonstration, the AgBot slows down and then stops as it gets closer to the farmers who have come to observe its work.
“As there is no need for supervision, we act as guarantor in the event of a problem. The sensor systems must detect the slightest obstacle that was not indicated during the survey,” adds Jonathan Muller. The robot, however, is not safe from a malicious act with a view to causing it to stop or even theft, even if the beast still weighs nearly eight tons.
More qualified jobs
Machines like the AgBot can free up time in a profession that often lacks it and must constantly adapt to weather conditions.
premium Arvalis, an agricultural institute that tests innovations for farmers
“This time saved, we can use it for other purposes, to carry out tasks that nature imposes on us at the most appropriate time. While the robot is working, we can free up time for things that require time. other skills And then, he is not going to replace the operations manager,” continues Jean-Charles Zwaenepoel.
An autonomous robot that can be monitored remotely.
“It will always be the farmer who will decide what to do at what time. With this robot, we no longer need a driver, but we will always need labor. In the history of agriculture , professions have always evolved, like farriers. With robots, we will necessarily need a more qualified workforce, with new skills, particularly in programming machines.
A chilling price: €330,000
The farmer has the same approach regarding the maintenance of these new tools: “The dealers will adapt, as they did with GPS. Today, they all have a technician specializing in this technology who has also brought a lot to agriculture. As robot tractors become more widely available, specialists will be trained.”
Two robots have been sold in France so far.
For democratization, it will take a little more time. For the moment, AgXeed has sold two of its field crop robots in France. The announced price is also not accessible to all farmers: €330,000, or roughly double that of a new conventional tractor. “The revolution will not happen in five minutes, but it often happens faster than we believe. When GPS arrived, we believed that it would never be accessible to everyone and it quickly became democratized .”
premium The FDSEA of Nièvre stands firm against the State during its general assembly
“It takes 700 hours of use for the AgBot to pay for itself,” adds Jonathan Muller. “One of our customers used it 2,000 hours over a year.”
The AgXeed robot, effective for soil preparation or even sowing, does not allow, for example, harvesting without supervision and is less suited to larger tools.
“We can try everything and consider everything in the future. For the moment, the tools attached to the robot do not have sensors, but we could very well imagine that this would be the case in the future. The next step is will be to make tools more intelligent”, announces Jonathan Muller.
Guillaume Clerc
