LOADIX autonomous robot: the collaboration between Dilepix and ManuRob

LOADIX, the autonomous, multi-tool, electric machine designed by ManuRob (M-extend Group)  is a "farm valet" that performs many different handling tasks in the farmyard.

Its particularity is that it is able to choose the tool adapted to the task to be carried out in complete autonomy. It therefore does not require human intervention.

LOADIX also has the ability to move matter (in silo or in bulk) from point A to point B. It is on this specific point that ManuRob and Dilepix have been working together for the past 4 years.

Why did ManuRob call on Dilepix? How did we work on this project?

We tell you everything in the following article!

#1 Problem to be solved: detecting the right loading point

LOADIX is a multi-purpose handling machine because of its ability to change tools to perform a wide range of handling tasks in the farmyard. It is able to choose the right tool in complete autonomy...

But to ensure LOADIX's autonomy, the ManuRob teams had to address two issues:

1. How to enable the machine to move around the farmyard on its own?
   For this, no major difficulty, engineers used the classical technologies used in the world of autonomous vehicles.
   
   
2. How to detect specific points such as the location of the matter loading point. 
   

   To date, there is no sensor that can detect and locate the right loading point for bulk matter or silos. ManuRob has therefore turned to Dilepix whose technology is capable of solving this problem.

Manurob has chosen a technology based on camera vision for the detection of organic matter because it is not fixed in time and space. The piles can be moved and the level of the silos can decrease. So a technology was needed that could recognise and adapt to its environment.

#2 Dilepix's missions in the LOADIX project

On this project, Dilepix provided its expertise in two stages:

1. Advice and specifications in the choice of the sensor (camera) adapted to the use case of ManuRob
   
   
2. Design of an embedded software within the machine to detect and locate the matter to be transported.

Locating the right loading point

The algorithms (deep learning) that have been trained and deployed in the LOADIX machine specifically detect the optimal loading point of the matter to be transported.

In concrete terms, once the machine is in the zone, in front of a silo or in front of a pile of bulk matter, the Dilepix neural networks are able to locate the machine in relation to the piles of matter and determine how far away it is.

The machine can then autonomously detect the optimal location (the right front in the silo and the optimal loading point on the ground) to load this matter. 

#3 A look back at the collaboration between ManuRob and Dilepix

After a highly confidential development process, the LOADIX machine was showcased at SIMA 2022.

Read the full interview with Pierre Germanaud (CEO ManuRob) and Aurélien Yol (co-founder and CTO Dilepix) who tell you more about the work the two companies are doing together.

📅 Dilepix will be exhibiting at World FIRA 2023

Do you have a project in agricultural machinery and robotics?

Take advantage of a short visit to the World FIRA from 7 to 9 February 2023 in Toulouse (FRANCE) to come and meet us.

👉 To find out more about our presence at World FIRA, click HERE