“The spraying of orchards and vineyards certainly isn’t an eco-friendly process, with tractors spewing exhaust as they douse crops in herbicides and pesticides. That’s one of the main reasons the electric, autonomous Prospr robot was created.

Manufactured by New Zealand agritech company Robotics Plus, the all-wheel-drive robotic vehicle was unveiled last September at the FIRA agricultural robotics show in California. It’s now in commercial use in New Zealand, Australia and the US.

Among other features, the robot sports a refillable spray tank, multiple spray fans, a diesel generator, a battery pack, and four knobby-tired wheels which are each independently driven by their own electric motor.

For relatively short spray jobs, Prospr can operate on battery power alone. The generator kicks in for longer jobs, producing electricity that reportedly allows the bot to work all day long without recharging or refueling. As a result, Prospr is claimed to use up to 72% less fuel than a traditional diesel tractor performing the same task.”

From New Atlas.