AGV from WMG to help
alleviate horticulture’s
labour shortage
Project aims for sound investment with
unique machine for nation’s growers
jason ford reports
WMG has collaborated
with horticultural
companies to produce
a proof-of-concept
Autonomous Guided
Vehicle that could help alleviate
labour shortages at nurseries and
growers’ sites across the UK.
The AGV, created in
conjunction with UK horticultural
companies Crystal Heart Salad,
Valefesco and WD Smith & Son,
is being developed to work in
greenhouse and outdoor areas
moving trays and boxes. Its
Nearly 90 per cent of non-EV owners
would be encouraged to buy one if
they had access to overnight charging,
according to a new report.
Commissioned by EV charging
provider Connected Kerb, the study
found that the ability to slow charge
where cars are parked is a fundamental
driver of ownership. The survey revealed
that 67 per cent of those who had bought
EVs would not have done so if they had
to rely on public chargers.
development has been spurred by
a drop off in available labour and
the rising cost of the horticultural
workforce.
According to Professor Robert
Harrison from WMG, University
of Warwick, the team reviewed
existing AGVs to ensure there
wasn’t an available product that
could meet growers’ needs. They
also ran a full analysis on the
potential prototype to ensure the
investment could be repaid through
off se ing future labour costs.
In use, AGVs navigate by
April 2020 / www.theengineer.co.uk 10
ELECTRIC MOTOR
TARGETS RECORD
POWER DENSITY
A new electric motor known as
Ampere, being developed in the
UK, is slated to be the world’s most
power-dense, delivering 20kW per
kg.
A collaboration between
Equipmake and HiETA, the Innovate
UK-backed project will combine
advanced additive manufacturing
techniques with thermal effi ciency.
Its metal structure will be 3D printed
instead of milled from a single
billet, reducing the quantity of
high-strength alloys and magnetic
material required, while also
minimising weight. The companies
are aiming for peak power of 220kW
at 30,000rpm and a weight of
less than 10kg, which would make
Ampere around four times more
power-dense than conventional
electric motors.
Key to the performance of
Ampere will be the motor’s thin walls
and complex internal geometries,
created by HiETA using selective
laser melting (SLM). The technique
allows components to be built using
very fi ne layers of metal powder,
which – unlike selective laser
sintering (SLS) – are fully melted
into single components rather than
simply fused together. AW
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following marked lines or wires on
the fl oor, or use radio waves, vision
cameras, magnets, or lasers.
““We are at a proof-of-concept
stage evaluating a number of
diff erent options for guidance
systems, and indeed for the
mechanical design progression,”
said Prof Harrison. “We do propose
to use diff erent guidance solutions
in diff erent situations, SLAM, GPS
plus an indoor location system
being the likely options.”
He added that the current
confi guration can carry up to
around 20 crates, trays or boxes,
depending on the variant of the
design and size of the trays. The
maximum load is likely to be
between 100 and 200kg.
The AGV’s lithium ba ery
needs to be recharged (from 80 per
cent to 30 per cent) around every
1.5 hours, and the charging time is
around 15mins (from 30 per cent to
80 per cent), Prof Harrison said via
email.
The AGV is also being designed
to be used in conjunction with
application-specifi c a achments.
“We plan to integrate the AGV
with various tooling to enable it
to pick-and-place diff erent forms
of plant containers,” said Prof
Harrison. “However, we are not
currently focusing on planting or
picking plants directly from the
soil as a priority, as we believe
we can add value more quickly
and eff ectively in other areas of
integrated-handling to begin with.”
OVERNIGHT CHARGING KEY TO UNLOCKING EV MARKET, SAYS REPORT
ANDREW WADE reports
But according to Chris Pateman-
Jones, CEO of Connected Kerb, the UK
government is prioritising rapid charging
points over regular charging points that
could be used overnight.
“The relative cost of our kerbside
chargers, even in the most expensive
scenarios, are a small fraction of the
cost of deployment of rapid chargers,
which are expensive both because of
the charger costs themselves, and also
because of the need to upgrade power
grid infrastructure,” said Pateman-
Jones.
“It’s also important to remember that
– regardless of the cost of deployment
– we need to consider the cost of not
deploying…in that, as our report shows,
if we don’t deploy these chargers to
support those without the ability
to charge at home, people will be
reluctant to adopt EVs at scale.”
According to Pateman-Jones,
the rollout of more extensive, more
accessible overnight charging will
require coordination akin to that of
broadband installation.
TECHNOLOGY NEWS
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