Robotic gantry bridge for farming

摘要

A robotic gantry (10) for conducting farming operations. The robotic gantry has a bridge (12) which is moved by propulsion mechanisms (14), one or more farming implements (16), a controller (38), and one or more devices (28, 30) to provide position information for the robotic gantry as it moves back and forth along a plurality of crop rows (40). The robotic gantry is connected to a power supply system (20) and, optionally, to a liquid supply system (22), which may be implemented as festoon systems. The controller is automated, self-navigating, and activates, deactivates, and/or changes the operation of the propulsion mechanisms, and deploys, retracts, activates, deactivates, and/or changes the operation of one or more of the farming implements. The height of the frame may be adjusted by height adjustment frames (18) to accommodate crops of different heights and at different times during a growing season.

主权项

1. A robotic gantry comprising:
a plurality of propulsion mechanisms to drive the robotic gantry in a travel path along a plurality of crop rows; a bridge connected to the propulsion mechanisms, the bridge having sufficient width to straddle a predetermined number of the crop rows; a plurality of farming implements connected to the bridge; a power supply system to provide operating power to the propulsion mechanisms, wherein the power supply system comprises a power rail or a power cable festoon; and a controller to control operation of the propulsion mechanisms and operation of the farming implements wherein the controller, in response to detecting a predetermined environmental condition, activates at least one farming implement.