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| The Ladybird Farm robot. |
WHILE the world’s car-builders and truckers are pondering who will get sued if
their robot cars go astray, Professor Sukkarieh at Sydney University has no such
qualms.
He last week successfully tested the Ladybird farm robot on a farm
in Cowra, New South Wales.
The robot trundled around the farm, which grows
onion, beetroot and spinach, for three consecutive days before its batteries ran
dry.
Sukkarieh’s farm robot has four steering wheels, each powered by an
electric motor, which allows the robot to turn in its own circle, crab over
lines planted skew and uses less power to run at its top speed of around 5 km/h
“The robot was able to drive fully autonomously up and down rows
and from one row to the next, while gathering sensor data,” said Professor
Sukkarieh. “Sensors include lasers, cameras and hyper spectral cameras. Part of
our research programme is to find new ways to provide valuable information to
growers about the state of their fields.”
The future plans for larger versions of the Ladybird include using
the robot to do automated harvesting and planting with a manipulator arm.
