FarmDogg blends robotics with rutabagas
The 550lb (250kg) vehicle measures seven feet long (213cm), four feet wide and slightly more than four feet tall. It features a lightweight plastic body that covers a frame made of square-tube steel, which allows for easy addition of work-tool attachments. Other end-user considerations include an easy-on, easy-off seat, a lower center of gravity to retain stability on inclines and – here’s the computing part – a cloud-based smart-technology platform called DoggBone, which allows data collection and robotic operation, Brandao says.
Commercial ATV users who don’t love the vehicles’ loud engines and bone-rattling vibrations might embrace the FarmDogg’s two whisper-quiet 5kWh hub motors, one in each rear wheel. A 3.2kWh lithium-ion battery pack supplies the power; it can be expanded into a 6.4 kWh pack. Maximum range is about 40 miles (64km), Brandao claims, with a top speed limited to 20mph (32 km/h).
The DoggBone interface would enable the vehicle to follow farmers like a loyal farm dog as they perform routine jobs such as spraying or harvesting crops. In a more advanced mode, the vehicle could be instructed to spray fertilizer on trees at an orchard, but perhaps only on every other tree, for example,Brandao notes.
“You can create other modes of activity: mowing, tilling and snowblowing can all be automated,” she adds. “The robotics technology is there. The problem is there hasn’t been as much focus on applying it toward commercial applications. That makes the FarmDogg more than just a single-operation piece of equipment and helps farmers justify buying one.”
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