The Exos, a fully autonomous vehicle for harvesting and feeding fresh grass, will be commercially available to Dutch dairy farms from the middle of next year.
Taking around 10 years to develop, the company first spoke about the vehicle in October 2020. Extensively tested on 13 Dutch farms, Lely says that these will be joined by seven pre-production systems before the end of this year.
Initially, only Dutch dairy farms will be able to buy the machine. Lely says that the market launch of the Exos in ‘grassy areas’ in surrounding countries will follow in the future. The company is targeting farms with approx. 150 cows with a minimum of 40ha, but the autonomous vehicle has also been evaluated on farms with up to 350 cows.
The reciprocating cutter bar is not only lightweight but also helps to keep the power requirement to a minimum.
Weighing around 3.4t and operating at speeds of 3-4km/hr, the working width is 2.0m (overall width 2.8m). The 12m³ bunker holds about 1.0t of fresh grass. The vehicle can be programmed to deliver grass to the right, left, or both sides. A front safety bumper is part of the standard spec, as are front and rear safety cameras. Outdoor navigation is via GPS. Ultrasonic sensors take over when driving inside.
The Exos can also be used to apply liquid fertiliser. The 10 nozzles are located directly behind the mowing unit, and the capacity of the tank is 100 litres.
Electricity to power the vehicle is supplied by a 400v on-board battery. All four wheels have individual electric motors the Exos runs on 520/50R17 tyres (0.8 bar pressure).
Prices have yet to be released. Source: Veehouderij Techniek
Autonomous Lely zero grazing concept – Profi
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