Fully Autonomous Farm Robot Fleet FarmFleet Deployed in Iowa: Unmanned Operations from Planting to Harvest
US agricultural robotics company FarmWise launches FarmFleet, an integrated autonomous farming robot fleet combining planting, fertilizing, weeding, irrigating, and harvesting functions, with a single system managing 2,000 acres.
Fully Autonomous Farm Robot Fleet FarmFleet Deployed in Iowa: Unmanned Operations from Planting to Harvest
US agricultural robotics company FarmWise held a launch event in Des Moines, Iowa on December 25, officially unveiling FarmFleet, the first commercial product integrating all five major farming operations into a unified robotic system.
FarmFleet consists of 12 robots across 4 types: 4 SeedBots for planting, 4 WeedBots for weeding, 2 IrriBots for inspection and irrigation, and 2 HarvestBots for harvesting. All robots interconnect via a farm-level mesh network, with central dispatch AI dynamically assigning tasks based on crop growth stage and weather data.
FarmFleet's technical highlight is plant-level management. Traditional agriculture manages at the field level with uniform seeding density, fertilization, and irrigation. FarmFleet uses high-resolution spectral cameras and soil sensors on each robot to individually manage each plant, giving more fertilizer to weaker plants, precision-weeding high-weed areas, and locally irrigating dry zones.
In 2,000-acre Iowa corn trials, FarmFleet achieved 8.3% yield increase per acre, 22% water reduction, 31% fertilizer reduction, and 67% pesticide reduction. System price is approximately $1.8 million per 2,000-acre unit, with FarmWise projecting a 2.5-year payback period.
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