AMRC Cymru is ploughing ahead with trials of the UK’s first commercially available fully-autonomous tractor at Coleg Glynllifon to see how it fares in grassland farming.

Article featured in the latest issue of the AMRC Journal.

The agriculture sector, a key part of supply chains for a range of industries, is under increasing pressure to produce high-quality, low-cost food for the population, whilst reducing environmental impacts. Amongst a host of challenges, two key aspects compounding the pressures the sector is feeling are labour shortages and consistency of operations.

Andrew Martin, head of food, drink and agri-tech at AMRC Cymru, says it is committed to driving industrial transformation within farming. He said: “We want to de-risk technology so that informed decisions can be made by farmers in these challenging times.

“These trials have been the result of the AMRC embracing the farming community’s views on technology use, looking at how we can get advanced manufacturing technology into farming, to the areas where it can really help, particularly land management and staffing.”

The AgBot, funded through a £1.5m grant from the Welsh Government, is designed to create a smaller, lighter and more efficient tractor unit, that can run non-stop and unsupervised for up to 23 hours and reach speeds up to 12 km/hr. 

Currently, an AgBot is approximately twice as expensive than a conventional tractor, but could provide long-term savings when it comes to fuel consumption, labour costs and the capacity to switch out its diesel generator for the future potential of greener non-fossil fuels, such as hydrogen.

The AgBot is able to plot out the most efficient route on the field and because it has the standard three-point linkage, it means the tools and equipment hitched on to the front and back are compatible with those currently available in farming.

The trials at Coleg Glynllifon, part of Grŵp Llandrillo Menai, are new territory for the equipment, demonstrating applications that have not yet been trialled before, along with head-to-head comparisons with conventional tractor systems - both semi-autonomous and traditional. The purpose and application of these trials is to learn how the AgBot works with grassland-farming, as opposed to its usual domain of arable farming.

Recent work by AMRC Cymru, which is part of the wider University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), has highlighted a lack of confidence within the agriculture sector to invest in automation technologies as, despite the increased and widespread use within manufacturing, the application to agriculture is still in its infancy. 

The use of automation in the agricultural sector - whilst surrounded by some uncertainty - presents significant opportunities for efficiency and quality improvements with wide reaching benefits, which are already being demonstrated within manufacturing sectors that have engaged with these technologies.

As part of the High Value (HVM) Manufacturing Catapult, the AMRC is addressing major challenges in agri-tech and food by bringing new technologies to market that benefit the economy, public health and environment.

Dr Lynne O’Hare, chief portfolio officer at HVM Catapult, said: “One of our four strategic priorities as a network is healthy living, which covers health tech, agri-tech, food and pharma. They are all challenged with the same pain-points: the lack of integrated solutions and a sizable labour gap.

“By leveraging the network’s collective capabilities in cutting-edge technologies such as robotics, AI, digitalisation and engineering biology, we can develop innovative solutions to reduce emissions, secure sustainable supply chains and address the significant skills shortage.”

By working directly with professional farmers on the trials, alongside AMRC Cymru experts, it is hoped they will build the agriculture sector’s confidence in emerging technologies.

Alex Lewis, manufacturing engineering lead at AMRC Cymru, said: “It is envisaged that the results of the project will provide some well-tested and objective guidance for farmers in Wales, and beyond, when considering the future for autonomy of this nature within agriculture.”

To combat sector uncertainty, and in a UK-first, the AgBot’s real-world field trials will assess efficiency gains, cost implications and the current and potential future energy systems that may be employed to affect autonomous farming operations. This will allow farmers to make informed decisions on the technology and help aid and de-risk future investments by the farming community.

The first trial, mowing grass for silage in Tyn Rhos, will be followed by cultivation in Tyddyn Gwian Uchaf. Both trials will see three vehicles tested: an autonomous tractor - AMRC Cymru’s AgXeed AgBot; a semi-autonomous tractor - the Fendt 516 with autosteer; and a traditional tractor - the Fendt 516 with the autosteer functionality deactivated. The Fendt 516 was chosen as it has a similar power to the AgBot, and was provided by Emyr Evans Tractors.

Senior manufacturing research engineer at AMRC Cymru, Laura Azais, attended the first day of trials. She said it was interesting to observe how the same task of mowing could be performed by three vehicles with varying levels of technology.

“Initial observations reveal a clear set of pros and cons for each vehicle, which are heavily influenced by the landscape type, field shape and size,” she said. “A significant benefit of the autonomous tractor is that it doesn't require a driver, which allows it to run 24/7, although it does necessitate some time and technical skills for setup.”

Variables measured for analysis include fuel consumption, locational variance, total distance travel, total time, working speed, missing/overlapping strip, man resource, Power Take-Off (PTO) speed, active time, and quality.

Fuel consumption quantification was also considered, with each vehicle starting with a 100 per cent full fuel tank - any available data gathered during the trials will be utilised and verified with weighing scales to enable an accurate fuel volume for calculations.

Though the AMRC Cymru team is hoping the trials will demonstrate the AgBot’s strengths, they’re also welcoming the opportunity to learn more and improve. Looking ahead to prospective results, manufacturing lead Alex added: “We’re seeking to understand the potential application of autonomous agricultural vehicles in real world environments.

“Without wishing to jump the gun, during the trials we have seen many potential benefits to autonomy, from outstanding accuracy in the field, to being able to see the ‘hands-off’ possibilities ahead.

“Conversely, some limitations in the autonomous system have been hinted at, which may show how the flexibility of conventional systems presents itself when certain situations arise.

“I expect we will see some trade-offs in the short term, but we anticipate an increase in further development and acceptance from farmers for this type of autonomy on the farm.”

Work undertaken ahead of the trials looked at field mapping and preparation, and individual tractor testing and preparation. Each field was divided into three blocks of approximately 1.4 hectares, centrally located within the fields to reduce the impact of any variability.

The Global Positioning System (GPS) equipment used during mapping utilises Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) networks to improve the GPS accuracy and provide access to the mapping interface, as mobile network coverage is limited and signal stability is poor in the selected fields - an issue faced across the sector.

At Tyn Rhos, a three-metre buffer zone was left around each block to allow the AgBot to complete a final defining cut, giving more precision to the blocks than a contractor may be able to achieve, providing accurate coordinates and a defined area for each block via the AgBot mapping software.

For Harry Collins, a senior manufacturing research engineer at AMRC Cymru, there is a personal connection to the work - his family has a small holding with 120 acres of land, home to a flock of commercial sheep, as well as a group of pedigree sheep.

Harry said the first trial  highlighted some important improvements that will be needed to further excel in a grassland environment, adding: “We’ve been able to learn how the AgBot works with grassland-farming, and consequently, we can work towards even better results and help de-risk future investments by the farming community.”

Prior to each trial, all vehicles are tested to ensure everything is set up and working as required. For the AgBot, this was physical preparation and testing with all equipment attached and connected, as well as sensor fitting, assessment of extractable data and job creation, and path planning for the trial date.

In a similar manner to the mowing trials in Tyn Rhos, the cultivation trials in Tyddyn Gwian Uchaf will utilise the AgBot to cultivate all areas around the blocks used for the trials, providing a similar level of visibility of the three blocks.

Martin Jardine, director of agri food at Grŵp Llandrillo Menai, said it was fascinating to be part of the Tyn Rhos trial at Coleg Glynllifon. “Seeing the team put the AgBot through its paces, cutting silage on a working farm was great to see,” he said. "I look forward to the findings of this unique research programme - it will be interesting to see how each compares in terms of speed, accuracy and efficiency.

"At Coleg Glynllifon we have the practical, hands-on knowledge of agriculture to complement AMRC Cymru's proficiency with emerging technologies. We are excited to continue our collaboration with AMRC Cymru as we look to discover potential productivity and sustainability gains for the Welsh agricultural economy."