KARL - your field robot

French manufacturer Kuhn has released details of a developmental concept offering new technical possibilities and working flexibility for farmers seeking to deal with widespread issues of recruiting, training and retaining staff.

An autonomous tracked vehicle with 175hp, KARL is designed to meet the demands of most farm sizes by offering flexibility in their fleets. KARL carries out work without human intervention but is controlled and monitored by an operator.

Once a paddock has been selected and its boundaries have been identified, the operator creates a work mission, places KARL in the plot, adjusts the work parameters, and starts the mission to run automatically.

Adding a second or even a third KARL vehicle can be carried out during the mission to increase work output, administered from the system’s mobile application.

KARL has the technology to transmit information for proper work performance and adjusts its parameters according to differences in soil and vegetation. Currently, the KARL Concept is being tested with power harrows for autonomous tillage, although further testing with differing types of implements is in the pipeline.

Testing is striving to deliver a successful cultivation operation within an optimal working window, for example, to achieve the right tillage depth, adequate seed application rate, or even regular and fine shredding of any residues.

During operation KARL is able to detect any malfunctions and deploy corrective actions independently.

With soil preservation being a major driver in the development, KARL has limited size and weight. Tracks of different sizes can be installed to limit ground pressure and minimise compaction. Less compaction is said to result in reduced runoff, especially in high rainfall events, improved soil life and improved root development potential.