SwarmFarm clocks one million acres, reveals what's next

For those using the metric system, that's 404,685 hectares SwarmFarm's robots have weeded, sprayed and mowed in 55,000 hours of run time, in addition to reducing pesticide inputs by an estimated 580 tonnes.

Owners Andrew and Jocie Bate, who manufacture, market and produce the machines and software from Emerald, say they are proud of what their team of 23 have accomplished in 10 years of business.

"We are really proud to lead the movement toward autonomous agriculture; I believe that there is tremendous promise in the continued growth of this space," Mr Bate said.

However, the team isn't resting on its laurels, providing another glimpse of the future at a recent industry event.

Speaking at the Australian Cotton Conference on Tuesday, Mr Bate said they were focused on delivering more autonomous features to farmers, in particular using robots to eliminate spray drift, and finalising their auto dock and refill technology.

Mr Bate said despite years of education, extension, training, demonstrations and field days, spray drift kept happening and they were working to find a solution.

"There's a lot of pressure for operators to get the job done - pick the kids up after school, get to the coast for holidays, there's a wedding on Saturday, and human nature steps in," Mr Bate said.

He said there were four things needed to stop spray drift: speed and boom height, the weather conditions, checking for nearby crops, and keeping accurate records.

To ensure correct weather data is used, the robots have been equipped with weather stations and are now being linked up to fixed weather stations on farms.

The robots are also integrated with BoM weather stations for those that have them nearby.

SwarmFarm is also working on an e-label system whereby farmers can scan a QR code on a chemical drum which then inputs the chemical label requirements on board the robot.

The code will bring in the specs for that job: weather conditions, the downwind spray zones, compatibility of the tank mixes, and droplet size, allowing the robot to make the spray or don't spray decision.

"Every minute of the day, if the conditions are right, the robot wakes up, goes to work, gets 15 hectares done. The minute the wind drops, picks up, or changes direction, the robot shuts down and goes into sleep mode and waits until it's right again," Mr Bate said.

"No one's doing that right now and that's an ability that we can have with autonomy."

Mr Bate said it would essentially take the stress out of spray decisions.

"'My neighbour stopped, maybe I should stop?' You hear this all the time and people talk about it down at the pub," he said.

"It gives farmers 100 per cent of that available spray window, and that's really important. That's the payback whenever you are bringing this sort of technology on board.

"The science says if we comply with the label it shouldn't drift. We know that - we just push the boundary sometimes."

The company's autonomous dock and refill system, whereby robots can refill diesel and chemical on the run, is also nearing completion.

Mr Bate said this would deliver a true 24-hour operation.

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