Given its vast industry expertise and experience with ARTECs self-propelled sprayers, Volvo Pentas D5 engine has been an obvious frontrunner in the development of the KUHN Groups KARL autonomous multifunctional field tool, which was one of the highlights at Agritechnica 2023
Volvo Penta's fuel-efficient D8 and D5 units have proved themselves on ARTEC’s F40 EVO and RS20 designs respectively. The company was therefore the obvious choice when engineers from the OEM, and its KUHN Group parent, decided to scale up the original KARL prototype, with proven Volvo Penta technology and its flexible platform.
Located at the front of the robot, where it receives maximum airflow, the cooling system was optimised to ensure the most reliable performance in dusty applications, such as when working on dry soil. Without the need to cater for an operator, the D5 sits at the very heart of the 2.5 m (w) by 4 m (L) by 2.3 m (ht), 5.8 tonne KARL. Situated in a low, central position, rather than upfront as with ordinary tractor designs, it provides important benefits in terms of the centre of gravity and weight distribution. Soil compaction is further reduced by the absence of an operator and the use of electrically driven skid-steer-style tracks.
While electric drivelines are not the usual arrangement in agricultural vehicles, they do however allow for much easier autonomous tool control. “Our D5 is coupled with a variable-speed generator that powers an electric traction driveline,” explained Volvo Penta's business engineer, Benjamin Deysieux. “Once we had ensured the engine could handle the stress of driving the rotor, this diesel-electric installation couples the reliability of a Volvo Penta engine with simple, flexible and super-high-efficiency power distribution. No doubt this system will become increasingly common on medium-sized machines in the future – just one more reason why this project represents the agriculture of tomorrow.”
Director of ARTEC, Thiery Leroueil was pleased with their effective partnership with KUHN, emphasising that the collaboration would benefit different parts of the KUHN Group as illustrated with the KARL solution. Volvo Penta's vice president of global industrial sales, Anders Konradsson highlighted how agricultural machinery was constantly changing as robotised solutions were becoming the future of farming. “KUHN is rightly engaged in these discussions with its customers, and we are proud to support its transformation through the KARL prototype presented at Agritechnica.”
For more information, visit: https://www.volvopenta.com and https://www.kuhn.com/en
