USE Network launch I UAV Works VALAQ l Cable harnesses l USVs insight l Xponential 2020 update l MARIN AUV l Suter Industries TOA 288 l Vitirover l AI systems l Vtrus ABI

81 Vitirover UGV | In operation Also, all the performance and measurement data generated by the vehicles’ systems is collected and recorded for further analysis. As well as helping to refine and optimise the performance of the vehicles, key biological data on pests, diseases and other such factors affecting agriculture can be collected by onboard sensors for farm scientists. “For example, during an initial delivery of the UGVs, we can also install a number of traps for catching bugs such as aphids,” de la Fouchardiere says. “And we can install a small camera on the robots to take an HD image of the traps as they pass, for researchers to record the incidence rates of bugs at each GNSS coordinate, or even just for farmers to determine how and where to treat their fields. “This capacity for installing cameras is also drawing more and more requests from vineyard owners to see if we can record imagery of their vines to help model crucial factors such as stock yields, soil quality or the risk of mildew. However, enabling that could mean significant changes to how our herds autonomously manage vineyards, so helping to generate biological databases such as these is something we’ll be considering for the future.” Downtime between mowings As mentioned above, Vitirover does not sell the UGVs but maintains users’ land via a subscription fee, invoicing for their services per hectare per year according to an agreed price. While occasionally a refit or replacement of one or two vehicles might be needed, most maintenance consists simply of the stationary UGV recharging in the sun. To ensure safe downtime, the initial survey performed by Vitirover’s surveyors will identify two types of rest area in which the vehicles can be parked while awaiting their next operation. One of these will be a clear area (nicknamed in-house as the ‘sun ground’) with rich access to open sky and sunlight (except during cloudy weather), where the robots can recharge at an optimal rate. The second type is a space called the ‘parking lot’, where the UGVs will be placed to protect them if necessary from rainy weather (to keep the wheels away from build-ups of mud and flooding on the ground) or from other farm equipment. For example, if a wine grower needs to use a sprayer on a vine occupied by one of the vehicles, he will ask the shepherd to send it to the lot. Each UGV can also take weather readings with sensors for measuring temperature, humidity and other meteorological data. For further protection, the plastic used for the shell has been chosen for its UV shielding, to ensure that overexposure to sunlight does not harm the vehicle’s structural integrity or electronics. Sealing throughout the chassis also prevents ingress of moisture or dirt into the electronics or motors. The reason for the Vitirover’s 70 cm length is that the company’s engineers have calculated that at least 25 cm 2 of space would be needed atop the chassis for enough solar cells to enable effective recharging. The cells are assembled by French company BASE, and were selected partly to ensure a safe local supply chain for this vital component. A custom 3 kg lithium-ion battery pack from fellow French supplier EdgeFlex provides the storage medium for the harvested energy, with enough capacity for 480 W/h (equating to 24 hours of continuous operation). A final concern over the long term is that farms and industrial sites are prone to occasional vandalism and theft, so Vitirover has installed some security measures on each UGV. For example, the secondary GNSS provides a geolocation alert if the robot is out of bounds or being transported at an unusual speed. Also, geofencing is programmed into each vehicle to force them to shut down and PIN-lock if they are removed from the operating region, to ensure their data records and software are protected until they can be retrieved by Vitirover or the client. Future plans At the time of writing, 100 Vitirovers had been built, with 300 more on order. To satisfy this anticipated demand, de la Fouchardiere says Vitirover plans to set up a new factory in the near future for mass-producing its UGVs. “Critical assets such as farms, solar plants and electrical stations need to be guarded against overgrowth of vegetation – even in the current pandemic when workers are unavailable – otherwise supplies of food and clean energy will start to suffer,” he notes. Companies in sectors such as these are realising that Vitirover’s unmanned herds are an ideal solution for when personnel need to work remotely in order to stay safe, and keep the vital industries of the world running. Unmanned Systems Technology | June/July 2020 Dimensions: 70 x 32 x 30 cm Weight: 20 kg Operating power consumption: 20 W Operating speed: 0.3 kph Operating temperature range: -45 to +80 C Endurance: 16 to 24 hours (depending on ground condition) Propulsion: Four-wheel drive Power: battery-electric, rechargeable solar Some key suppliers GNSS: Trimble Motors: Maxon Motor Motor controllers: Maxon Motor Battery: EdgeFlex Solar cells: BASE Circuit boards: EMSPROTO Specifications