Heavy batteries are actually an asset in such scenarios because light tractors often lose traction when plowing compacted soil.
Electric Monarch tractor can plow a field without a driver and run for ten hours
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Re: Electric Monarch tractor can plow a field without a driver and run for ten hours
#92Earlier quoted context omitted.
IIRC, it was near silent. That’s what makes the lights coming out of nowhere extra creepy.
Wow, and that is really impressive. I'm guessing that means the noise I typically associate with lawnmowers is more the engine than the blades/vacuum. Maybe that means it's time to find my finest nimby-hat and try to get a ban on two-stroke engines implemented here.
I have a 60-volt electric mower, and it's much quieter than the small engine powered mowers I grew up with. Most of the noise is definitely the engine.
Re: Electric Monarch tractor can plow a field without a driver and run for ten hours
#93+ Really good idea to make use of the electricity in other ways than just driving. (generators, lamps, etc.) + 10 hours covers up a good day in field. - a lot of farms are away from electricity sources to charge and sometimes internet connection is non-existent. It is risky to leave a 50k machine on its own to do its job. And what to do if battery runs out on the field? - how long does it take to recharge? A lot of f…
> a lot of farms are away from electricity sources to charge In the US? Not true. The vast majority of US farms have power for one simple reason, they irrigate. It'd be far too expensive to irrigate using a gas pump. The exception MIGHT be dry farms, but those aren't as common as you might think. Further, most farms have shops for repairs which almost always have power for lights (and heat sometimes). > And what to d…
A lot of farms do operate on acreage that is fairly remote to their garage space (a lease or similar can be miles away).
Re: Electric Monarch tractor can plow a field without a driver and run for ten hours
#94Earlier quoted context omitted.
Barrier to entry in Ag is the dealerships. Deere has the best US dealership network for heavy equipment outside of CAT. It is Ok if your Tesla is in the shop for a few weeks getting fixed, but for Ag equipment, even a few hours at the wrong time is super painful. Deere has parts for 20yr old equipment and their own freight trucks, don't overlook this advantage.
Its definitely a factor, most people I know out here who bale run multiple tractors so they can handle one or two in the shop if it's during a critical time. We've got a Kubota CUT, when rats chewed out the writing harness we were 4 weeks before we had it up and running even with insurance + dealership. Personally I'd love to see someone come in and clean house. Weight and torque are the two things you want in a trac…
I doubt anyone will come in and "clean house" - especially not from a VC-funded startup. The (oft-subsidized) money is just too good to "leave on the table". The best we can hope for, are solid Right-to-repair laws that make DRM illegal/possible to bypass to at least allow custom firmware
Re: Electric Monarch tractor can plow a field without a driver and run for ten hours
#95I know these guys! They are a super impressive team. Wish I could have invested, but they'd already too expensive for for me...
Re: Electric Monarch tractor can plow a field without a driver and run for ten hours
#96This is quite an impressive machine coming out of a startup. I'm surprised by all the comments that expect them to go head to head with John Deere right out of the gate. This autonomous tractor is their entrance into the foyer of this Ag space. Sure it's not the Midwest behemoth that we have working the fields here in Ohio, but give them some years to get their tech in order to produce that. Bringing products to market is an expensive endeavor in time, money and resources. Personally, I've only dealt with software so I cannot imagine something of this nature. Good work with the Monarch and I'll be watching this space to see what you turn out.
Re: Electric Monarch tractor can plow a field without a driver and run for ten hours
#97Once John Deere starting DRM’ing their tractors it just screams entrenched monopoly. But where’s the barrier to entry? AI is going to dramatically alter this competitive landscape and John Deere’s DRM is not going to to stop it. Honestly, I love watching these companies drive nails into their own coffins. I was on the Google homepage today on my iPhone and was getting popups advertising Chrome (on the homepage!) and…
Are Mahindra tractors sold in the US? I'm sure they'd have the money to compete with JD.
Mahindra is the worlds most popular tractor and any man and his dog can service them.
Re: Electric Monarch tractor can plow a field without a driver and run for ten hours
#98Doesn't the added efficiency in plowing mean more carbon release from the soil (thus offseting any gains from not using diesel)?
Re: Electric Monarch tractor can plow a field without a driver and run for ten hours
#99Granted it's not one of the behemoth's that I see in the Midwest. But I would see a 10 hour run time as a limitation. My friends who raise corn & beans have described their work as being like flying a small plane: Hours of boredom capped off at the ends by a few moments of sheer terror. The opportunities to plant and harvest are dictated by the weather, and when it's good, they want to be running their machines aroun…
Is “Midwest behemoth” a common term in farming? I’ve seen two top level comments use it in this thread.
Other top level comment:
Re: Electric Monarch tractor can plow a field without a driver and run for ten hours
#100This is fascinating but I'm surprised by how little progress we've made in automating farm work. There have been articles about how complicated it is for a computer to pick vegetables and fruits, and how nothing compares to the human hand. How long will it be before we see robots take over the field, displacing seasonal workers? https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/03/20/592857197/ro...
Between 1970 and 2013, the % of Americans working in agriculture dropped from 4.4 to 1.5. I’d say we have continued to make excellent progress, it’s just not as sexy as robot fruit pickers.
Yes. Almost everything in farming of major crops has been mechanized for years, if not decades. Fruit picking is still a problem, but it's slowly being cracked.
In the more advanced countries, cow milking and meat cutting is done by robots. The US is starting to catch up.[1] Advanced technology from New Zealand is finally reaching the US. The countries that don't have a supply of low-wage illegal immigrants are ahead in advanced ag technology.
[1] https://www.robots.com/applications/meat-processing-automati...