BOSCH start-up, Deepfield Robotics, has developed a new machine, an autonomous agricultural robot called BoniRob that can autonomously perform repetitive phonotypical tasks for individual plants on different days. This robot will be an alternative to the tractors found on fields today and may be seen performing cultivation tasks like seeding, spraying, fertilizing and harvesting in the future.
The BoniRob vehicle is the size of a compact car with a navigation system that allows the autonomous navigation over row-based cultures. It can be configured to work for different cultures and different track widths. In addition applications are provided by the navigation system with the current robot position and the position of individual plants. It can monitor how well new crop varieties grow, whether they are resistant to pests and how much fertiliser and water they need. Bonirob can distinguish between crops and weeds and can eliminate weeds mechanically, completely ruling out the need for a weed killer.
BoniRob is the product of a public joint project, funded by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture that saw experts from Bosch, Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences, and the agricultural machinery manufacturer Amazone join forces. Having received Robotics Technology Transfer Award and National Award for Innovation in Horticulture, this research project has already started working towards further innovations. The work to develop the robot for the most versatile applications is in full swing.
Professor Amos Albert General Manager of Deepfield Robotics, explains, “Over time, based on parameters such as leaf colour, shape and size, BoniRob learns how to differentiate more and more accurately between the plants we want and the plants we don’t want.”
It is estimated that in the coming years, yields will have to increase by three percent each year to keep up with population growth. Development of automated field robots with high technological challenges and options for economical and ecological benefits accruing from such advancements, are definitely good news and a productive step for efficient plant breeding to increase agricultural output.
