OREANDA-NEWS  Scientists from Kazan are testing an autonomous ground drone that can take over berry harvesting in industrial volumes, as well as soil treatment, Kazan State Agrarian University (GAU) told RIA Novosti.

"Kazan State Agrarian University, together with Innosta, is testing an autonomous ground drone for industrial berry orchards. The machine itself moves along the aisles and takes the harvest to the warehouse, and in the future it will take over cleaning, spraying and tillage," the report says.

According to the calculations of the developers, next season 20 hectares of plantings with the help of this drone, equipped with various equipment, will be able to serve several people.

The scientists explained that the drone is a tracked electric trolley with a differential drive. According to them, in addition to the possibility of remote control from a remote control, the robot is able to receive a task and perform it without an operator.

"The fundamental difference of this machine is that it is autonomous. She is given a goal, not a trajectory: the robot builds a route along the row by itself and works without a human next to it. The first operation mastered is transportation. The pickers collect the berries, the car arrives at the collection point on schedule, it is loaded, the operator confirms the shipment from a smartphone, and the cargo leaves for the warehouse," the university noted.
At the same time, cargo transportation remains only one of the functions, they stressed. Thus, the platform is designed as a base for attachments and trailed equipment.

"The next step is to put a berry harvester on the platform and abandon the tractor in this operation. The value here is not in the mechanics - it is quite simple - but in the control system, which allows the car to navigate the garden on its own," the Kazan State Agrarian University added.