Autonomous weeding on wheels

Weeding is a chore for everyone, especially in farming where, besides the weather conditions and exposure of machines to sand and dust, the relentless growth of weeds can also be frustrating. To meet this challenge, the Dutch company AIGRO UP has developed an autonomous weed control robot with drylin® W profile rails and linear housing from igus®. With the help of various sensors, the robot can travel thousands of kilometres in any weather continuously and fully autonomously along the trees to weed them.

Profile

What was needed: drylin® W profile rails and linear housing
Requirements: weathering effects as well as scattering of sand and dust
Industry: agriculture
Success for the customer: autonomous weeding in wind and weather, relief for employees, 100% maintenance-free and lubrication-free

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AIGRO UP - Autonomous weeding robot

Products used

drylin® W profile rails

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drylin® W linear housing

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Problem

Traditional weeding in agriculture is difficult and time-consuming. Manual weed control can cause considerable physical strain as well as high costs. This can only be achieved with a high degree of automation and special components. The aim of the Dutch company is to make the towing hitch smooth-running, dirt-sensitive and flexible in the event of any alignment or parallelism errors in the construction. In addition, the method of weed control requires an economical and efficient solution.

Solution

To ensure that the weed control robot remains steadfast even when exposed to the elements and scattered with sand and dust, the manufacturer relies on drylin® W profile rails and linear housings from igus®. The drylin® W profile rails and linear housings are available in different versions and can be individually adapted. They are also very robust and durable and offer excellent sliding properties without any lubrication. Therefore, the drylin® W profile rails and linear housings are particularly suitable for the weed control robot. In addition, weathering effects and scattering of sand and dust do not play a role. The focus in the development of AIGRO UP is on uncomplicated and reliable handling. This gives the robot an affordable option for mechanical weeding or lawn mowing, and has hours of battery life. The GPS function is only used to navigate between different rows and fields.