Recently, the project titled “Development and Application of an Efficient Intelligent Weeding Robot for Orchards” successfully passed its acceptance inspection. The project is a pilot initiative integrating the R&D, manufacturing, promotion and application of agricultural machinery, jointly undertaken by Jiangsu Yueda Intelligent Agricultural Equipment Co., Ltd., Jiangsu University and the Jiangsu Provincial Agricultural Machinery Technology Extension Station through collaborative industry–university–research efforts.

Designed to operate in the complex environments of orchards, the project has focused on overcoming key technical challenges, including autonomous navigation and obstacle avoidance, range-extended power systems, floating contour-following weeding mechanisms, electric chassis with low ground clearance, integrated machine design and industrialization, and the integration of agricultural machinery with agronomic practices, together with demonstration and promotion. Following multiple rounds of field trials and engineering refinements, the robot passed third-party testing, with all performance indicators meeting the technical requirements specified in the project contract. The results received high praise from the experts attending the acceptance review.

The “Smart” agricultural robot is the project’s flagship product. It features a fully electric tracked chassis and supports the rapid interchange of modules for weeding, pesticide spraying and transport. The weeding module uses a flail mower with an adjustable cutting width. The spraying module features an air-assisted spraying system with a 500-liter tank, while the transport module has a maximum payload capacity of 500 kilograms. Powered by a lithium iron phosphate battery, the robot supports rapid battery swapping and can operate for at least four hours on a full charge, with fast charging taking approximately 1.3 hours. Thanks to its modular design and quick-change attachments, the robot can perform multiple tasks with a single machine across a range of settings, including orchards, landscaping and protected agriculture.