HortiBot - A Plant Nursing Robot

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Vision

The vision is the Spider mounted with the HortiBot accessory kit, which transforms it into a tool carrier for high-tech plant nursing for e.g. organic grown vegetables. High-tech tools for weeding that at a later stage can be implemented are tools like laser, micro spraying and mechanical devices. The pictures show the commercial Spider and the delivery from this project – A robust and simple tool carrier for the outdoor gardener.

Illustration of the synergy obtained by combining the commercial remote controlled Spider (top left) with the autonomous AgRobot research platform (top left) from The Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Agricultural Engineering. The vision is the Spider mounted with the HortiBot accessory kit, which transform it into a tool carrier for high-tech weeding for example of organic grown onions (middle). The bottom picture shows the delivery from this project – a robust and simple tool carrier of e.g. a laser weeding tool for the outdoor gardener.

Organization of the project and key competences

The project ended August 2007. The project was coordinated by The Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Agricultural Engineering, with expertise within technologies for precision weeding, robot technology for agricultural purposes, and machinery management. The additional partners in the project were Vitus Bering with competences within hydraulics, electrical control, and software development; Special Maskiner with many years experience within specialized machinery to nurse green areas; Eco-Dan a/s, which is the leading supplier of vision based solutions for automatic tool guidance within row crops; Gartneriet Inge-Marienlund which is the largest producer in Denmark of garden lettuce, china cabbage, and organic onions, which is grown as a part of the approximately 170 hectare farmed according to organic principles.

Participants

• Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences, DIAS Bygholm
• Vitus Bering (CVU), Horsens, Denmark
• Special Maskiner, Denmark
• ECO-DAN
• Axel Månsson A/S, Gartneriet Inger–Marienlund

Funding

• 207,000 € - Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, Denmark
• 129,000 € - Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Research Centre Bygholm
•   52,800 € - Vitus Bering (CVU), Horsens, Denmark
•   19,900 € - Special Maskiner, Denmark
•   10,500 € - ECO-DAN, Denmark
•   19,400 € - Axel Månsson a/s, Gartneriet Inger–Marienlund, Denmark
• 438,600 € in Total

Project Co-ordinator

Rasmus Nyholm Jørgensen, Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Research Centre Bygholm. - Rasmus might now be contacted at University of Southern Denmark.

Further development of the HortiBot

A new research project entitled 'Weeds' continues the development of the Hortibot. 

Contact for more information

Michael Nørremark, Aarhus University, Dept. of Agricultural Engineering.

Revision 21-Nov-07 by Michael Nørremark