With maritime robotics technologies progressing rapidly, since 2017 with the Robotic Boat, an unmanned maritime vessel, Yanmar has been working on the deployment of auto-navigation and automatic docking systems. Yanmar’s maritime robotics technology aims to ease labor shortages in the fisheries start and ensure safe working marine environments.
Agriculture in the future will see increasing use of scientifically precise farming techniques, where automated ‘agro-bots’ monitor, treat and work the land, using advanced technology designed to help maximize yields and minimize disease. With its extensive experience in automation and agricultural mechanization, Yanmar is now showing the way in advanced field robotics research.
Yanmar has participated in a field test to demonstrate the use of precision location technology in autonomous agricultural equipment held by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the working group consisting of Thai and Japan organizations. The demonstration southeast of Bangkok, served to draw attention to the labor-saving potential of autonomous technologies in agriculture.
Yanmar has developed a diesel-powered high seedling density rice transplanter that utilizes the Group’s proprietary autonomous driving technology for straight-line planting and autonomous operation. The technology is expected to simplify rice seedling planting operations and reduce operator fatigue. The YR8D, A, auto-rice transplanter will go on sale from February 1st, 2019 in Japan.
Yanmar is set to embark on an ambitious 2-year, 4 million Euro project in cooperation with 10 technology partners to develop a modular robotic system to monitor, analyze and manage agricultural crops. The Smart Machine for Agricultural Solutions Hightech (SMASH) project is co-financed under the Tuscany region of Italy and scheduled to run to 2020.