Fasterholt Maskinfabrik A/S, autonomous irrigation machine with boom for precision irrigation

Product description:
Fasterholt’s autonomous precision irrigation machine operates independently, travelling to and from the irrigation area without operator intervention. Its unique control system minimises crop damage, as RTK-GNSS guidance and four-wheel steering ensure precise driving within existing tramlines while positioning the hose within one of the wheel tracks. Equipped with a section-controlled sprinkler boom, the machine adjusts water application according to soil conditions, curved passes, field wedges and other variations. This enables more targeted irrigation while reducing labour requirements, tractor hours and fuel consumption.

Expert description:
This self-propelled irrigation machine, which the company calls the “Autonomous irrigation machine with boom”, incorporates a number of new technical solutions:

• Four equally sized wheels with four-wheel drive, powered by an individual hydraulic motor on each wheel.
• Four-wheel steering.
• Hydraulic drive powered by a water turbine driving two hydraulic pumps: one variable-displacement pump for machine propulsion and one for all other machine functions.
• Constant turbine speed to optimise energy efficiency.
• Placement of the machine’s hose within one of the two wheel tracks rather than in a separate track in the centre of the machine.
• Active hose deployment, enabling the machine to operate in curves while preventing the hose from unwinding incorrectly on the reel.
• GPS map-based guidance instead of the traditional steering wheel mounted on the hose, both during hose deployment and retrieval.
• Variable water application across the width of the boom when operating in circular arcs and other curved paths.
• The machine only requires tractor assistance when being moved from one hydrant to the next.

Additional innovations introduced by Fasterholt include:

• Autonomous operation using field maps and predefined irrigation tracks, enabling the machine to move independently from one irrigation lane to the next.
• Irrigation during both outward and return travel within each irrigation lane.

The autonomous functionality allows the machine to be positioned in a field and connected to a hydrant, after which it can irrigate as many tramlines as can physically be reached by the hose before a tractor is required to relocate the machine to a new position.

Contact details:
Fasterholt Maskinfabrik A/S
Stand: D3078
Contact: Eva M. Jaffke
Email: ej@fasterholt.dk
Telephone: +45 24 40 18 82
Website: https://www.fasterholt.dk/da/