Solar-Powered Robot Seeds & Weeds
The FarmDroid FD20 can seed and weed a 40-acre field without burning a drop of fuel. The solar-powered robot runs off a base station that guarantees 1 cm accuracy once a field’s geofence is set up. It records the location of each seed as it is planted and then returns to cultivate that exact location and the area around it, providing weed-free growth throughout the season.
The FD20 was developed by two Danish farming brothers tired of manually weeding organic sugar beets. The first prototype was brought to the field in 2012. They formed FarmDroid ApS in 2018 and sold their first units in 2020. The FD20 quickly began catching on with farmers across Europe and elsewhere.
“We have more than 250 FD20s in use in 18 countries,” says Eddie Pedersen, FarmDroid ApS. “In addition to sugar beets, it’s being used with onions, spinach, kale, rapeseed and different herbs. If we can seed it, we can weed it.”
Row distance, plant distance, sowing depth, speed and tolerances can be adjusted to fit various crops, soil types and farmer preferences. If anything deviates from the preset tolerances, the FD20 automatically stops and alerts the farmer.
Each robot weighs less than 1,800 lbs. and can cover as much as 13 acres per day. It has a working width of just under 10 ft. and can be configured to place seeds in 4, 6 or 8 rows. It can be programmed to work in multiple fields and with multiple crops on up to 44 acres (20 hectares). All it needs to know is the perimeter of the field and any in-field obstacles.
Unlike most autonomous field equipment, the FD20 has no cameras, radar, lidar or other elaborate safety equipment. Instead, a simple trip wire stretches just beyond the perimeter of the FD20. With a top speed of a little over 1/2 mph, if anything hits the wire, the robot stops within an inch or two.
“The farmer is alerted that it has stopped, requiring he go the field and manually restart it,” says Pedersen. “It will also stop and alert the farmer if it reaches the geofence.”
The four solar panels deliver up to 20 kWh per day. The battery pack is sized to provide 24-hr. operation for the electric-powered seeder/weeder. If it runs out of power at night, the FD20 simply stops where it is and waits for daylight to reenergize and continue operation.
The seeding units can do single or multiple in-line seed placements. An infrared sensor detects each seed drop and notifies the onboard computer if one is missed.
Camera-based systems have to see the plant to weed around it, giving early emerging weeds an advantage. Because the FD20 knows exactly where each seed is, it can do blind weeding before the seed emerges. Once the seed has emerged, it does inter-row and in-row weed removal.
An organic hemp seed producer in Saskatchewan reported impressive results after trying an FD20 in 2021. He used it on half a field, using his conventional equipment on the other half. The precision seeding reduced seed usage by almost 2/3 and increased yield by 280 percent.
“He was so impressed, he became a dealer and ordered three more FD20s,” says Pedersen. “He will have four of them in his fields this spring.”
More dealers are being established in the U.S. and Canada with the focus on value-added crops. The FD20 is priced at just under $56,000. That does not include an RTK base station (which can handle up to six FD20s) or the 3-pt. mounted transport.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, FarmDroid ApS, Industrisvinget 5, 6600 Vejen, Denmark (ph 011 45 8863 8766; info@farmdroid.dk; www.farmdroid.dk).
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Solar-Powered Robot Seeds & Weeds PLANTING EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous The FarmDroid FD20 can seed and weed a 40-acre field without burning a drop of fuel The solar-powered robot runs off a base station that guarantees 1 cm accuracy once a field’s geofence is set up It records the location of each seed as it is planted and then returns to cultivate that exact location and the area around it providing weed-free growth throughout the season The FD20 was developed by two Danish farming brothers tired of manually weeding organic sugar beets The first prototype was brought to the field in 2012 They formed FarmDroid ApS in 2018 and sold their first units in 2020 The FD20 quickly began catching on with farmers across Europe and elsewhere “We have more than 250 FD20s in use in 18 countries ” says Eddie Pedersen FarmDroid ApS “In addition to sugar beets it’s being used with onions spinach kale rapeseed and different herbs If we can seed it we can weed it ” Row distance plant distance sowing depth speed and tolerances can be adjusted to fit various crops soil types and farmer preferences If anything deviates from the preset tolerances the FD20 automatically stops and alerts the farmer Each robot weighs less than 1 800 lbs and can cover as much as 13 acres per day It has a working width of just under 10 ft and can be configured to place seeds in 4 6 or 8 rows It can be programmed to work in multiple fields and with multiple crops on up to 44 acres 20 hectares All it needs to know is the perimeter of the field and any in-field obstacles Unlike most autonomous field equipment the FD20 has no cameras radar lidar or other elaborate safety equipment Instead a simple trip wire stretches just beyond the perimeter of the FD20 With a top speed of a little over 1/2 mph if anything hits the wire the robot stops within an inch or two “The farmer is alerted that it has stopped requiring he go the field and manually restart it ” says Pedersen “It will also stop and alert the farmer if it reaches the geofence ” The four solar panels deliver up to 20 kWh per day The battery pack is sized to provide 24-hr operation for the electric-powered seeder/weeder If it runs out of power at night the FD20 simply stops where it is and waits for daylight to reenergize and continue operation The seeding units can do single or multiple in-line seed placements An infrared sensor detects each seed drop and notifies the onboard computer if one is missed Camera-based systems have to see the plant to weed around it giving early emerging weeds an advantage Because the FD20 knows exactly where each seed is it can do blind weeding before the seed emerges Once the seed has emerged it does inter-row and in-row weed removal An organic hemp seed producer in Saskatchewan reported impressive results after trying an FD20 in 2021 He used it on half a field using his conventional equipment on the other half The precision seeding reduced seed usage by almost 2/3 and increased yield by 280 percent “He was so impressed he became a dealer and ordered three more FD20s ” says Pedersen “He will have four of them in his fields this spring ” More dealers are being established in the U S and Canada with the focus on value-added crops The FD20 is priced at just under $56 000 That does not include an RTK base station which can handle up to six FD20s or the 3-pt mounted transport Contact: FARM SHOW Followup FarmDroid ApS Industrisvinget 5 6600 Vejen Denmark ph 011 45 8863 8766; info@farmdroid dk; www farmdroid dk
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