Prototype feed truck auto-delivery system

Summary

Background

Commercial feedlot operations deliver feed to pen bunks daily, usually across two deliveries, and this process can often present safety and productivity issues such as the following: Vehicle operators are required to be trained and skilled to perform multiple tasks concurrently, including locating the feed trucks next to pen bunks, steering, speed control, all while operating the vehicle’s feed chute as per delivery consignments. Performances across operators are often inconsistent, including feed cycle times, feed application distributions along pen bunks, reversing along bunks to deliver feed deficiencies after forward passes, and manually removing (shovelling) excess delivered feed.Inaccurate and irregularly distributed feed delivery may lead to sub-optimal carcase weight gains and contribute to other animal welfare issues.

R&D Project

In response to an opportunity created between MLA and Bindaree Beef Group (BBG), Manabotix Pty Ltd were engaged to develop, supply, and evaluate a prototype feed truck auto-delivery system, suitable for retrofitting on one of the existing feed trucks at Myola Feedlot. A bespoke solution was engineered and delivered to the donor feedlot, and then demonstrated to the satisfaction of stakeholders.

Through an agreed experimental protocol under normal operating conditions, the prototype feed truck auto-delivery system and human operators were evaluated against several criteria. The experiment outputs objectively demonstrated that the prototype system provided more accurate and more time-effective first pass and final deliveries than humans. In both cases, the feed evenness and bunk utilisation were very equivalent, andManabotixsuggested that this is most likely a function of the human factors imposed over feed truck operation during the experimental protocol.

Key design features of the prototype included its high-accuracy positioning solution based on RTK global navigation satellite system (GNSS) technology.  This is retrofittable to feed trucks and scale heads that are commercially-available, and can be switched between automatic and manual feeding modes.  In additiona the feed gate has an interlock preventing feeding errors if the feed truck arrives at the incorrect pen.

Outcomes from the R&D

The performances achieved were very encouraging, and Manabotix believe that a pathway to a retrofittable automatic feed delivery system is clear, with further refinements for a production system to be realised in a next stage for commercialisation. Such an outcome ought to provide a very valuable productivity improvement for the benefit of BBG, Myola feedlot, and other Australian feedlots. The results of this project also pave the way to full automation of commercial feed trucks. Logical next steps are to implement appropriate auto-steer technology to maintain the feed truck at a consistent parallel distance to the feed bunk. Following that, full automation of driverless trucks could be achieved with appropriate collision control and safety mechanisms. Australian feedlots may then be the first in the world to integrate semi-automated or fully automated feed trucks into large scale operations.