KFAST (Kubota Fede Autonomous Spraying Know-how) is an autonomous sprayer idea for speciality crops designed to satisfy EU laws and targets of the Inexperienced Deal.
The KFAST robotic idea, collectively developed by Kubota and Fede, autonomously applies phytosanitary therapies and presents the choice of remote-control steering. Its structural design and newly developed 4×4 traction guarantee easy motion, exact turning, and correct positioning within the narrowest rows of specialty crop fields. This massive-capacity autonomous sprayer will be geared up with numerous air methods to satisfy the particular necessities of various plantations.
Ongoing therapies are monitored and displayed on the Specialty Crops Platform (SCP), Fede’s digital agronomic administration software. As well as, KFAST sends alerts in case of incident or parameter out of vary, together with the detection of empty spraying and diesel tank to autonomously return to the station for refilling. As soon as the remedy is accomplished, all the information is registered, offering actual traceability and required data to generate the digital farm guide.
KFAST will considerably enhance the productiveness and effectivity of labor within the plantation, since a single operator can handle 4 robots at a time and allows to hold out night-time duties. With goals to be an answer to the dearth of labour drawback, as effectively and the generational renewal, within the agricultural sector. Moreover, it improves the occupational security and well being by eliminating the dangers of accidents and drastically lowering occupational publicity to pesticides.
As soon as the work order is obtained, Fede’s autonomous sprayer idea goes to the assigned row to start out the remedy. KFAST, geared up with the AIs system, an modern know-how that performs high-precision therapies by means of picture seize and AI processing. The robotic adapts the spraying in actual time with individualised management of the nozzles to regulate the appliance tree by tree whereas sustaining a relentless stress and utility circulation in every open nozzle with a homogeneous distribution and deposition of the remedy.
KFAST idea stands out for its exceptional discount in pesticide use and soil degradation, each key targets within the EU Inexperienced Deal. The system registers financial savings in the usage of pesticides of as much as 40%, in keeping with the sector assessments outcomes carried out throughout the Life-AIs venture, which enhance considerably when finishing up therapies based mostly on the prescription of variable utility maps (VRA). On the identical time, it relieves soil compaction by shifting solely 4 wheels at all times following the identical axis, lowering the variety of tons supported by the soil and minimising displacements.
Moreover, the symptoms generated by KFAST picture seize provide up to date knowledge on the state of the plantation, precious data that can be utilized by third events to supply their agronomic providers. KFAST is distinguished for being an open system that permits the mixing a variety of service suppliers reminiscent of pest detection, yield prediction, farm administration data methods, amongst others.
The KFAST idea, Kubota Fede Autonomous Spraying Know-how, has been awarded as Technical Novelty at FIMA 2024, a worldwide benchmark occasion within the agricultural equipment sector for specialty crops.
