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why have a truck doing this? Couldn't this be a much lighter and efficient structure with just the camera and robot arm?

by leoff 3y ago

3D30497420 3y ago
Guessing it makes it more flexible to use since it is self-contained, so it could be used on whatever size or configuration of field. It sounds like a gasoline engine? That seems an interesting choice.
- Cthulhu_ 3y ago
  Makes sense; (red) diesel is already in use on farm fields, one tank lasts for ages, loads of power, doesn't need to be quiet since it's in fields, it's lighter weight so less soil impact, and water doesn't affect it much. Downsides is of course pollution etc, even if diesel engines have gotten a lot cleaner over the years.
  - berkes 3y ago
    If you think of it, though: all the pollutants, heavy metals, and other chemicals that are in the X liter of diesel a farmer burns per yet, ends up on, and in the crops. We eat that. (and thus need to wash it, to mitigate that)
    - lukan 3y ago
      There is usually worse stuff on the fields than diesel, but this is about flowers which do not get eaten. And the same design would likely work with a battery at some point in the future. But currently diesel is standard on the fields.
    - PeterisP 3y ago
      What heavy metals? Leaded fuels aren't used for decades. Diesel exhaust doesn't really leave anything worth caring about on the crops, "natural" pollution from rain, soil, bugs and birdshit is an order of magnitude more relevant than exhaust, and the things intentionally sprayed on fields - fertilizer, herbicides, pesticides - is much worse than those, even for organic farms manure and their range of approved pesticides are applied in huge quantities and will mean polluted crops that (obviously) need to be washed and will have all kinds of harmful residue anyway. If the device was solar instead of diesel, that wouldn't move the needle on the dirtiness of the crops. Even the pollution from wear&tear on tires and brakes is more relevant than fuel - we worry about fossil fuels due to the global effect of greenhouse gas emissions, we also care about people breathing in small particles from diesel exhaust, but it doesn't really harm food in farms.
    - Retric 3y ago
      > all the pollutants, heavy metals, and other chemicals that are in the X liter of diesel a farmer burns per yet, ends up on, and in the crops. It's really not that much. A combine harvester uses about 15 gallons / hour of fuel and harvests ~450,000 pounds of corn per hour ie more than a lifetimes supply of food. Various other equipment gets used but it's all trivial in comparison to what's directly sprayed on crops. Meanwhile your directly exposed to all the car fumes around you on a daily basis. Also, tulips aren't a food crop.
PeterisP 3y ago
The robot arm would still have to be mounted on a truck, wouldn't it? It's not like it will be half a mile long and just reach over the whole field. Also, robot arms can be a quite expensive way of doing things; I saw a prototype that used tethered drones (like the common quadcopters, but power and data comes over a cable) to manipulate things as apparently it was like 10 times cheaper than a robot arm capable of reaching the same distances and transporting the same weight payload.
Someone 3y ago
I would guess the problem is easier to solve in the more controlled lighting below that truck than in the more varying daylight. It also needs lots of lighting (https://youtube.com/watch?v=9H_JUvXyL74 https://youtube.com/watch?v=9H_JUvXyL74) That roof also may protect the electronics better from rain. Finally, I can’t find details on https://h2lrobotics.com/?page_id=254&lang=en https://h2lrobotics.com/?page_id=254&lang=en but I doubt it is “the camera”. There probably is more than one.
Goonbaggins 3y ago
I work on a similar type of application (AI connected to a robot arm that sorts recycling). This looks pretty efficient for a few reasons. - Consistent lighting is crucial for the most efficient AI. Full overhead enclosure makes this way easier - Gantry style robot is MUCH lighter and easier to repair than both a 6-axis arm or even a delta robot. It's also likely an order of magnitude cheaper than other options - Gantry robot also makes it pretty modular if they need to modify for different crop widths
dheera 3y ago
I was thinking the same. Even use some drone with reinforced titanium props that double as blades and use the drone propeller to chop up the sick tulips.

why have a truck doing this? Couldn't this be a much lighter and efficient structure with just the camera and robot arm?

by leoff 3y ago

why have a truck doing this? Couldn't this be a much lighter and efficient structure with just the camera and robot arm?

3D30497420 3y ago

Guessing it makes it more flexible to use since it is self-contained, so it could be used on whatever size or configuration of field. It sounds like a gasoline engine? That seems an interesting choice.

Cthulhu_ 3y ago
Makes sense; (red) diesel is already in use on farm fields, one tank lasts for ages, loads of power, doesn't need to be quiet since it's in fields, it's lighter weight so less soil impact, and water doesn't affect it much. Downsides is of course pollution etc, even if diesel engines have gotten a lot cleaner over the years.
- berkes 3y ago
  If you think of it, though: all the pollutants, heavy metals, and other chemicals that are in the X liter of diesel a farmer burns per yet, ends up on, and in the crops. We eat that. (and thus need to wash it, to mitigate that)
  - lukan 3y ago
    There is usually worse stuff on the fields than diesel, but this is about flowers which do not get eaten. And the same design would likely work with a battery at some point in the future. But currently diesel is standard on the fields.
  - PeterisP 3y ago
    What heavy metals? Leaded fuels aren't used for decades. Diesel exhaust doesn't really leave anything worth caring about on the crops, "natural" pollution from rain, soil, bugs and birdshit is an order of magnitude more relevant than exhaust, and the things intentionally sprayed on fields - fertilizer, herbicides, pesticides - is much worse than those, even for organic farms manure and their range of approved pesticides are applied in huge quantities and will mean polluted crops that (obviously) need to be washed and will have all kinds of harmful residue anyway. If the device was solar instead of diesel, that wouldn't move the needle on the dirtiness of the crops. Even the pollution from wear&tear on tires and brakes is more relevant than fuel - we worry about fossil fuels due to the global effect of greenhouse gas emissions, we also care about people breathing in small particles from diesel exhaust, but it doesn't really harm food in farms.
  - Retric 3y ago
    > all the pollutants, heavy metals, and other chemicals that are in the X liter of diesel a farmer burns per yet, ends up on, and in the crops. It's really not that much. A combine harvester uses about 15 gallons / hour of fuel and harvests ~450,000 pounds of corn per hour ie more than a lifetimes supply of food. Various other equipment gets used but it's all trivial in comparison to what's directly sprayed on crops. Meanwhile your directly exposed to all the car fumes around you on a daily basis. Also, tulips aren't a food crop.

PeterisP 3y ago

The robot arm would still have to be mounted on a truck, wouldn't it? It's not like it will be half a mile long and just reach over the whole field. Also, robot arms can be a quite expensive way of doing things; I saw a prototype that used tethered drones (like the common quadcopters, but power and data comes over a cable) to manipulate things as apparently it was like 10 times cheaper than a robot arm capable of reaching the same distances and transporting the same weight payload.

Someone 3y ago

I would guess the problem is easier to solve in the more controlled lighting below that truck than in the more varying daylight. It also needs lots of lighting (https://youtube.com/watch?v=9H_JUvXyL74 https://youtube.com/watch?v=9H_JUvXyL74) That roof also may protect the electronics better from rain. Finally, I can’t find details on https://h2lrobotics.com/?page_id=254&lang=en https://h2lrobotics.com/?page_id=254&lang=en but I doubt it is “the camera”. There probably is more than one.

Goonbaggins 3y ago

I work on a similar type of application (AI connected to a robot arm that sorts recycling). This looks pretty efficient for a few reasons. - Consistent lighting is crucial for the most efficient AI. Full overhead enclosure makes this way easier - Gantry style robot is MUCH lighter and easier to repair than both a 6-axis arm or even a delta robot. It's also likely an order of magnitude cheaper than other options - Gantry robot also makes it pretty modular if they need to modify for different crop widths

dheera 3y ago

I was thinking the same. Even use some drone with reinforced titanium props that double as blades and use the drone propeller to chop up the sick tulips.