Already on 15 September we presented our RowCropPilot at the 25thfamers market in Bad Kreuznach. In addition to the more than 100 booths of regional exhibitors on the grounds of the Service Centre Rural Area Rheinhessen-Nahe-Hunsrück, the anniversary year 2018 also focused on the viticulture of the future. In the context of this technical show, our autonomy kit RowCropPilot was shown in action that (partially) autonomous working in vineyards is possible.
The vehicle equipped with the RowCropPilot, here an electrically driven mulcher from the Swiss company Aebi, can independently drive through the rows of vines, turn at the end of the row and drive into the next row. In addition, the innovative control system controls the mulcher, switches it on and raises or lowers it at the beginning and end of the row. The RowCropPilot thus enables the vehicle to carry out recurring maintenance tasks in wine-growing autonomously.
In addition to the control technology of Robot Makers GmbH, drones for spraying, application of ichneumon wasps and nutrient analysis using a spectral camera were also shown at the technical show. Furthermore, NIKO Maschinenbau from Bühl presented the prototype of an electrically powered tracked vehicle that can be used for a wide variety of applications.
Besides the many interested visitors, a delegation of state politicians around the Rhineland-Palatinate Minister of Economic Affairs Volker Wissing (FDP) informed themselves about the current state of development.