The next generation of the BlueBob prototype robot is a six-row, fully electric, and autonomously navigating field robot, for mechanical weed control in sugar beets between the first two leaves stage and canopy closure. The project is being realized in cooperation with Naïo Technologies, the leader in agricultural robotics solutions, and the Fraunhofer Development Centre for X-ray Technology EZRT, a division of the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS. BlueBob 2.0 is equipped with Naïo navigation technology and has been enhanced with Strube/Fraunhofer technology for sugar beet detection.

The field robot is used in the phase between the first two leaves stage and canopy closure, thanks to a combination of inter-rows tools guided by the camera and in-row powered tools based on AI. This result is an almost complete elimination of weeds in the sugar beet field, i.e. between rows and between each plant.

“The weeding principle is based on distinguishing between weeds and beets in real-time and at a very early stage. This is an essential advantage for eliminating weeds quickly and to avoid competition between weeds and beets,”

emphasizes Christian Hügel, Head of Seed Quality Research at Strube. All living plants are recorded by multispectral cameras.

“Each plant position is precisely located, and an artificial intelligence algorithm is used to analyze the phenotype of each individual plant and classify it into weeds and beets,”

says Hügel.

Turning in the field is also no problem for the robot. It autonomously follows the track of the seed drill, which has recorded the RTK GPS coordinates of the driving route with an antenna on the seed drill thanks to the navigation system from Naïo Technology. BlueBob autonomously finds the rows and the tracks recognize the end of the field and turn independently into the next track on its own.

“The weeding performance around half a hectare per hour is impressive, and the autonomy of the batteries allows a continuous shift of eight hours,”

says Bruno De Wulf, Project Manager BlueBob at Strube.

Together with Naïo Technologies and Fraunhofer IIS/EZRT, Strube successfully developed an autonomous field robot for mechanical weed control in sugar beets.

The post Naïo Technologies Unveils the BlueBob Agricultural Robot appeared first on North America FarmQuip Magazine.

“We want to assure our dairy producers that the same, committed team they have grown with will remain an integral part of Milk Barn and our product and service offerings moving forward,” Agha says. “We enjoy being a full-fledged DeLaval dealership. With the resources of DeLaval and industry experts, we are able to bring a complete package of services and resources from our Milk Barn to your Milk Barn.”

The Milk Barn product line includes a range of technology-forward DeLaval solutions, from teat dips, detergents and farm supplies, to the latest offerings from DeLaval: the VMS milking system V300, Parlor milking system P500, and OptiDuo feed refresher.

“Our dealers are the backbone of the products and service that DeLaval provides. We can bring the latest and greatest to the market, but it’s our dealers who make the difference on the farm each day, and we are confident that Milk Barn will serve this area well.”

said Steve Harris, Director, DeLaval US Channel Sales.

The team at Milk Barn will serve dairy producers out of three, key locations: Hagerstown, MD, Shippensburg, PA, and Martinsburg, PA. Although the former Agri-Service, LLC location at Belleville, PA, has closed, customers in the area will continue receiving the day-to-day service and support they need for success on their dairy operations.

Source: Delaval

The post Milk Barn is the new DeLaval dealership appeared first on North America FarmQuip Magazine.