Israeli machinery maker RMH is developing Nexus, an autonomous, electrically powered feeding robot that drives itself to the silage clamp, fills its mixing tub and takes the feed to the cows, with no separate feed kitchen needed.
The Dutch importer, RMH Agri, confirmed the project to the Dutch magazine TREKKER while saying it may share very little so far. The robot has a 6 cubic metre mixing tub with two vertical augers. Outside, it navigates the yard by RTK GPS; inside the barn it switches to other sensors for navigation and positioning, though how that works has not been disclosed. Lidar sensors detect obstacles.
Nexus runs on a replaceable 48 kWh battery pack, which RMH Agri says lets it feed continuously for 2.5 to 3 hours, and the battery-swapping system is patented by RMH. The robot has four-wheel drive and four-wheel steering.
The first prototype was shown recently at the Innov'Space livestock fair in Rennes, France, and RMH is developing it further. RMH Agri is aiming for a market launch in 2028 and expects to give more details next year.
Feeding is one of the most time-consuming daily jobs on a dairy or beef farm. A robot that loads itself at the clamp, rather than one that only distributes feed prepared in a fixed feed kitchen, could take more of that routine off farmers' hands, though no prices or performance figures have been released yet.
Photo: Tractorboy60 / Wikimedia Commons (public domain)
Source: Future Farming
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