Autonomous diet feeder from KUHN
KUHN has taken the wraps off its new self-propelled, autonomous diet feeder, which it says is capable of feeding 280 cows.
The new AURA works autonomously utilising GPS and RTK to move around a farm, collecting and feeding out a TMR.
The AURA’s 3m3 mixing tank features two vertical augers that require a lower power requirement and feature KUHN’s K-NOX technology.
The company claims it can guarantee a service life of six times longer than steel alternatives.
An operator can adjust the mixing and chopping speed to create a homogenous TMR with a palatable consistency.
Inbuilt loading and weighing modules calculate the exact mix of forage material, including grass and maize, along with any supplements and concentrates they require.
Other features include a 56hp (42kW) diesel engine, which KUHN says can power the AURA for up to a week of continual loading and feeding.
The AURA is compact, standing at 2.6 metres high, 1.9 metres wide and just under 7 metres in length.
According to the company, this helps it to move around most areas of the farm, including feed passages and clamps.
Features
It feeds out at a speed of 2km/h on both the left and right using a conveyor and can travel at up to 7km/h.
Furthermore, a dual guidance system uses GPS and RTK outside and LIDAR inside in conjunction with an onboard odometer.
Farms choosing an AURA will be mapped, and WIFI devices installed to enable connectivity throughout. The AURA also has inbuilt sensors to stop or avoid objects, and it can travel on gradients up to 20%.
You can calculate the TMR as often as you need and upload data to the AURA remotely.
Its built-in loading and weighing modules enable it to travel to sources of forage, concentrates and minerals to load.
A multi-purpose milling head ensures that all forage is loaded efficiently. Meanwhile, onboard weighing sensors can calculate the TMR to the nearest kilo.
Time and frequency of feeding
Farms using the AURA will have augers connected to silos containing concentrates and minerals that have a receiver to communicate with the AURA’s onboard transmitter.
You can set the time and frequency of feeding to precise points 24 hours a day to enable consistent feeding without intervention.
The AURA also features rotating bushes that push up forage and double up to clean the clamp of any fallen material. Moreover, the brushes operate on both sides of the machine to offer the flexibility to feed in any housing.
It will distribute its newest product, the AURA, initially in France, with other countries in Europe to follow. It expects to release the first units in the UK from 2024/2025.
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