DOT Put Through Its Paces in Arizona Fields
University of Arizona researcher works with the autonomous farming platform and DOT-ready implements this winter .
The DOT autonomous agricultural robot, seen here fitted with a 120-sprayer attachment produced by Connect, begins a winter research program at the University of Arizona Maricopa campus on Jan. 9. (Photo: Robin Booker)
DOT is a Saskatchewan-built robotic platform designed to bring autonomous farming to broad acre grain production, and Connect is a newly formed company that builds DOT-ready implements, including a sprayer and fertilizer coulter attachment.
Pedro Andrade, an associate professor and a precision ag specialist at the University of Arizona who has worked on navigation systems since the early 2000s, said he’s excited to be working with DOT and Connect.
"DOT is a high-powered platform that can be used for heavy duty, high-energy type of operations like planting, like spraying, and even tillage,” Andrade said.
Connect and DOT are having a field day at the UA Maricopa Agricultural Center on March 27.
We are now seeing how we can apply what we have learned in navigation systems and sensor-based management, and how we can apply all that knowledge in autonomous platforms.”