ManuRob (part of M-Extend) is showing a fully electric and autonomous handler at Eurotier this week.
The French start-up previewed the prototype at the French SIMA show two years ago. Out of the limelight since, the company has been busy working on the programming side of the project, and the pre-production version of what is called the Loadix is on display at the German show.
Lifting 2.0t to 4.1m, it uses LiDAR (between the two front wheels) for obstacle detection, GPS RTK for navigation and a smart camera system to recognise the material it has been tasked with moving.
Fitted with a Dana Spicer drive train, there are two electric motors, one for the transmission that has a top speed of 7.2km/hr and one for the hydraulic pump for the arm and attachment movements (60l/min).
The unit is able to return to a docking station after two to four hours of work. It can swap between attachments of its own accord with a chip used to recognise the implement. It is on solid Camso wheels to avoid any tyre deflection, can negotiate slopes of up to 30% and has independent front and rear steering.
The company is initially targeting biogas plants. “This is simply because loading grass and maize silage, or sugar beet, is the simplest form of handling,” comments ManuRob marketing director Richard Swift, who adds that livestock feeding will be next.
A number of pre-production units will be on farms in France and Germany early next year, with full production planned to start by the end of 2025. The roughly €360,000 price tag includes a charging station, two attachments, Loadix Connect app and remote control for manual operation. It depends on the complexity, but it can take 2-3 weeks to set up, for which the company charges an installation fee ranging from €3,000-€5,000.
ManuRob is confident of a life expectancy of 15-20 years, and plans to buy back used machines and re-condition them. “Everything works more gently without a driver and forward speeds are much slower, so wear rates will be lower.”
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