Croplands has become the exclusive Australasian distributor of Prospr the autonomous multi-use hybrid vehicle designed for horticulture crops
Prospr is a multi-use autonomous vehicle designed for sustainable vineyard and orchard production and will be exclusively available from Croplands in Australia and New Zealand.
Croplands is a division of Nufarm and is the emerging solutions spray equipment platform that is taking every opportunity to drive future development through technology solutions to ensure accurate spray applications and reduce spray drift.
See how Croplands recently combined forces with magnetically assisted spray technology company MagrowTec to offer local growers spray technology with better canopy penetration and drift reduction on this link.
On this occasion, Croplands has joined forces with Robotics Plus, a New Zealand-based agritech company to bring Prospr to the Australian and New Zealand horticultural markets.
Prospr has been developed as a robust autonomous, multi-use hybrid vehicle platform for automated intelligent spraying in vineyard and orchard production and is expected to significantly increase efficiency across a variety of crop tasks and at its core also alleviate current labour challenges.
The distribution agreement complements the existing technology partnership between the companies. Robotics Plus specialises in the design and build of robotics, AI, and autonomous machines, while Croplands has over 50 years of experience in world-leading spraying solutions.
Ideal spraying partnership
Sean Mulvaney the General Manager of Croplands went into more detail saying, “We are proud to partner with Robotics Plus on the design and manufacture of world-leading Quantum sprayer modules to integrate onto Prospr, the autonomous platform developed in New Zealand for horticulture markets.
“Our focus on bringing emerging solutions to the market continues with the opportunity to distribute Prospr and a range of sprayer attachments across Australia and New Zealand,” Sean Mulvaney added.
Steve Saunders the Co-founder and Chief Executive of Robotics Plus explains his goals, “We are all about partners with the purpose to adapt and shift to solve problems. Agriculture is time-critical, and with Croplands, we are combining deep domain expertise to benefit growers.
“We have developed an automated, effective spraying and attachment solution with the smarts to not just do the job but to keep doing it better. Prospr customers in Australasia will now benefit from Croplands’ large distributor network, spraying expertise and customer support,” Steve Saunders concluded.
Robust all day running
Prospr is a robust autonomous vehicle with all-day running ability that adapts to growers’ jobs while reducing emissions, inputs, and reliance on increasingly hard-to-find machine operators.
Prospr’s unique modular architecture accommodates multiple interchangeable tools being developed, including newly released tower sprayers for grapes, apples, or tree crops.
The right tool for the job is attached to the vehicle depending on the day’s work, allowing different tools for various crop types and applications year-round to maximise return on investment.
Multiple Prospr machines can collaborate in a fleet to get the job done. The autonomous vehicle uses a combination of perception systems to sense the environment, putting valuable data and insights into the hands of growers.
Fuel Efficient
Prospr has an all-electric drive system for confident torque and control. Its onboard power generation, with a Tier 4 diesel generator, allows the vehicle to operate for extended periods without charging or refuelling.
Regenerative braking and high-capacity batteries extend range, while its intelligent all-wheel-drive system with independent wheel motors gives secure manoeuvrability, grip, and control.
Modular and adaptable
Prospr has a small footprint and unique steering configuration, incorporating electric steering and independent motors. The vehicle turns on its rear axle with a minimum headland requirement of 7.1m for row-to-row turning.
Minimum row spacing is 1.85m, giving growers options to deploy automation in a greater variety of applications in various crop types. This means the ground is covered faster, maximising productivity and spray time compared to machines that turn on every second row or greater.
The vehicle’s lightweight design, combined with its unique tyre and wheel configuration, reduces ground compaction. Robotics Plus’ ongoing partnership with Yamaha Motor Co, a global technology leader, allows the company to take advantage of their extensive knowledge in machine vision, artificial intelligence, and productising vehicles for scale.
Q Series Sprayers
Q Series Sprayers, developed by Robotics Plus in conjunction with Croplands, allow growers to deploy a range of sprayer configurations, adapting to various crop types and growing systems.
The Q4 / Q6 sprayers have two or three fans per side designed for either vine or tree crops. While the Q8 sprayer comprises eight fans, four per side, and is best suited to tree crops.
Spray rates and air speed are dynamic and controlled per fan to maximise spray efficacy through electric drive and control systems. The sprayers are built using Croplands Quantum fans that produce targeted, controlled and turbulent air for better coverage from the proven droplet formation and spray deposition.
Safe management
To implement Prospr, a mesh network is installed to give a more consistent connection and interaction with the machine, improving operational efficiencies and user safety.
Operators can manage and streamline the day’s work with a new organisational tool with an easy-to-use interface. Coordination is enabled between team members with multi-language support across various desktop and mobile devices.
Jobs can be logged in advance and viewed in real time. Completed or in-progress jobs are mapped and recorded digitally.
Multiple machines can be managed simultaneously by one or two operators from a single remote control via a fixed or mobile console.
For more information on Prospr now available from Croplands in Australia and New Zealand, see more on this link.
While you can see Prospr in action on this video link.
