Autonomous agricultural machinery

Background and Objective

The question is whether crop production systems based on autonomous small machines are superior to more advanced production systems based on autonomous large machines. We weigh the chances of success of the two systems against each other.

Approach

We compare the two systems systems in view of their advantages and disadvantages in plant production, agricultural technology and economy. In order to identify the different possibilities we analyze each step of the production system for possible alternatives (that is with small autonomous machines) and for the impact of this step on the evaluation criteria.

Data and Methods

The currently used reference system in arable farming is being defined on the base of a typical farm for a chosen location in Germany. To draft scenarios for production systems with autonomous heavy and small machinery we do literature reviews and expert discussions.

Results

For a scenario with autonomous large machines, there are no significant improvements both in terms of economy and agronomy in comparison to today's methods. In a second step, a scenario for wheat production with small autonomous agricultural machines was designed. The power requirement, the weight and the area performance of the machine concepts were derived as important parameters and evaluated economically. It turned out that the operating costs of the small machines can be at the level of today's costs. Future projects should examine which plants should be combined on the field from an agronomic point of view. From a technical and economic point of view, the optimal machine size of individual processes has to be clarified.