At Robot Hayes in Devon, UK our objectives are:-
- to develop robotic tools to grow vegetables all the year round
- to sponsor community action to grow fresh food
- to create a biodiverse foodforest
- to have a healthy outdoor way of life to show others how to live
At Robot Hayes I am personally developing robotic techniques to farm without chemical interventions. I do not like terms like conventional, organic, regenerative, biodynamic, natural as these are poorly defined and get abused by marketeers. I just make tools that farmers can use in any system that they find provides a sustainable farm.
Projects
farmBot
farmBot is an electric powered robot that works inside a polytunnel.
Modern farming has used soils badly, chemicals and heavy machines have destroyed soil structure which is why we now get so many floods and drought stressed plants. Chemical managed soils do not absorb and hold water, it compresses easily. If we can fix the problem of soil structure we can grow crops in the difficult conditions caused by climate change with more heavy rain and long droughts.
Since 2020 I have searched long and hard for a suitable field for a project to grow vegetables with robots replacing chemical sprays to control weeds and insects.
It had to have good soil, South facing, be easy to access with heavy equipment, and not overlooked.
The farmBot runs on 24 V DC power from solar, it has 3 axes with a y,z gantry moving along parallel tracks forming the x dimension. It has tools for weeding, watering sowing etc.
Safe Hybrid Working
Is a Defra/InnovateUK Farming Innovation Project to make tractors safer when working with humans particularly in horticultural tasks like weeding and harvesting. I am adding features to the tractor to prevent it bumping into humans and animals who might be in the field.
