Seedling or plant start transplanting is an ideal seeding method, both environmentally and economically. It reaches many grower goals, including better quality and yield, fewer inputs, decreased costs and less impact on the environment.
When performed manually, however, transplanting is both time-consuming and labor-intensive. Both these factors can be liabilities during the current shortage in field help. Automated transplanting helps cover the gap and meets demand while providing savings in both time and labor.
How It Works
Automated vegetable transplanting uses specialized machinery with manipulators or grippers to remove seedlings, or starts, from propagation trays and drop the seedlings into the furrow at a preset location. The process relies on automated field transplanters, which use vision-based navigation or other mechanisms to maintain precision and plant separation with little human intervention.facebook
Automated Transplanters
Automated transplanters use a combination of some of today’s most advanced technologies to carry out they’re work. An optimized vegetable transplanting routine follows a series of steps:
• Specialized vision software and firmware manage image data.
• Convolutional neural network capabilities process imagery to detect locations, plant types and weeds.
• Post-processing algorithms create neural-network-based timing information to trigger the suite of tools.
• A controller implements timing information and the toolset to carry out seedling transplants at the correct location.
Machines That Work
Stout Industrial Technology, Inc., began in 2019 with the goal of automating weeding and cultivation. Their approach focuses on real-world applications for innovative technology based on specific client demands. To learn more about the Smart Cultivator and automated vegetable transplanting, contact the team at 831-455-1004 or visit them on facebook.