DESIGN NAME: Spoutnic
PRIMARY FUNCTION: Robot of assistance
INSPIRATION: Real assistant of the breeder and coach for the poultry, Spoutnic is at the crossroads of the worlds of the vehicle and the animal. The taut bows and large wheels symbolize technicality. The white hull and the black mustache are directly inspired by trilobites. The two multicolored eyes have a mischievous expression and an organic outgrowth upward, like a goby Periophthalmus, allowing a better 360 degres visibility for the poultry.
UNIQUE PROPERTIES / PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Spoutnic is the first autonomous poultry robot. It circulates in poultry houses and solves the problems of laying on the ground. Developed in collaboration with robot-animal interaction specialists, Spoutnic produces light and sound stimuli to prevent birds. It helps the farmer educate the chickens by guiding them to the nest and forcing the birds to exercise. A real sports coach. In the end, there is a decline in the mortality rate on farms and an improvement in working conditions.
OPERATION / FLOW / INTERACTION: Spoutnic is easy to use, requires no installation or specific configuration. Its all-terrain feature and compact size allow it to move under feed mechanisms and work on uneven litter. The battery is recharged using a plug, thus allowing the robot to work 8 hours a day at slow, medium, or fast speed, depending on the flocks. Spoutnic moves randomly and independently throughout the coop. If it meets an obstacle, like a wall, nest or hopper base, it detects and bypasses it.
PROJECT DURATION AND LOCATION: The project was launched in 2015 in Brittany and the first proof of concept was presented in autumn 2016. The design phase of Spoutnic was entrusted to Agence Desind in March 2017 and the first model, entirely designed and manufactured in France was presented at SPACE, the international exhibition of animal production in September 2017 in Rennes.
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PRODUCTION / REALIZATION TECHNOLOGY: In order to have a good transmission of the power of the 4 electric motors, the chassis has been made of
painted aluminum. The external parts to the chassis like the mechanism of the mustache or the wheel supports are stainless steel or aluminum. To make the robot waterproof to ammonia, dust, water and impact resistant, each element was chosen for its physical and chemical properties. The white shell is made of thermoplastic, the translucent eyes and the black mustache are recyclable, and everything is assembled mechanically to facilitate maintenance.
SPECIFICATIONS / TECHNICAL PROPERTIES: Obstacle detection and avoidance -
Light and sound stimuli -
8 hours lithium battery life -
Water, dust and ammonia resistant -
6 speeds, depending on flock’s training phase -
Speed management interface -
Remote start and stop control -
Battery level indicator -
Service indicator -
4 wheel drive equipped with brushless motor, for work on uneven litter -
Weight: 10 kg -
Compact size: Long:63, Larg:56, Haut:18 cm, to move under feed mechanisms.
TAGS: Agence Desind, Tibot, Poultry, iot, Robot, Assistance, Agriculture,
RESEARCH ABSTRACT: I consider that design is a fundamental intellectual and applied process to improve and create a better future. Spoutnic improves the welfare of breeders and animals, taking into account their physiological needs. Based on exchanges with poultry farmers and scientific data on Galinaceae, we have designed a product that reduces the use of antibiotics, diseases and chicken mortality and reduces the risk of depression among breeders by improving their profitability and reducing the hardness.
CHALLENGE: The challenges were numerous on the project. The manufacture had to meet strict standards. The robot had to be ergonomic for poultry producers and sized for poultry and its manufacture possible individually. I first determined with Tibot the values that the robot had to convey. Then I identified viable parts manufacturing processes and worked on positioning the leds to transmit the light signal. This is how the eyes appeared on the top of the robot. Finally i worked the shape of the mustache to limit the risk of pinching, user-machine interface, ergonomics and the stylistic identity of Spoutnic.
ADDED DATE: 2018-03-05 11:20:12
TEAM MEMBERS (4) : Yanne COURCOUX : CEO, Tibot Technologies, Lionel PLANQUETTE : Technical Manager, Tibot Technologies, Pierre MABIT : Project Manager, Tibot Technologies and Frédéric CLERMONT : Designer, Agence Desind
IMAGE CREDITS: Image #1-2-3-4 : © A point studio
Image #5 : © Frédéric Pieau
PATENTS/COPYRIGHTS: Copyrights belong to Agence Desind and Tibot Technologies.
Patented : 1 patent, France and PCT (WO) Tibot Technologies
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