KFAST (Kubota Fede Autonomous Spraying Expertise) is an autonomous sprayer idea for speciality crops designed to fulfill EU rules and goals of the Inexperienced Deal.
The KFAST robotic idea, collectively developed by Kubota and Fede, autonomously applies phytosanitary remedies and gives 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 could be outfitted with numerous air methods to fulfill the precise necessities of various plantations.
Ongoing remedies are monitored and displayed on the Specialty Crops Platform (SCP), Fede’s digital agronomic administration instrument. 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 info is registered, offering actual traceability and required info to generate the digital farm e-book.
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 permits to hold out night-time duties. With goals to be an answer to the shortage of labour downside, as nicely 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 acquired, Fede’s autonomous sprayer idea goes to the assigned row to start out the remedy. KFAST, outfitted with the AIs system, an revolutionary expertise that performs high-precision remedies by 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 strain and utility move 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 goals within the EU Inexperienced Deal. The system registers financial savings in using pesticides of as much as 40%, in line with the sector exams outcomes carried out inside the Life-AIs venture, which enhance considerably when finishing up remedies based mostly on the prescription of variable utility maps (VRA). On the similar time, it relieves soil compaction by transferring solely 4 wheels at all times following the identical axis, lowering the variety of tons supported by the soil and minimising displacements.
Moreover, the indications generated by KFAST picture seize provide up to date knowledge on the state of the plantation, precious info that can be utilized by third events to supply their agronomic companies. KFAST is distinguished for being an open system that enables the mixing a variety of service suppliers resembling pest detection, yield prediction, farm administration info methods, amongst others.
The KFAST idea, Kubota Fede Autonomous Spraying Expertise, has been awarded as Technical Novelty at FIMA 2024, a worldwide benchmark occasion within the agricultural equipment sector for specialty crops.
