Media

Chris Boiling shares his impressions after visiting an open-air demonstration of the Slopehelper agricultural system in the vineyard of Radgonske Gorice in Slovenia.
A team of Russian engineers, now based in Slovenia, has developed and built an electric autonomous agricultural vehicle that is capable of doing most of the labor-intensive jobs in vineyards and orchards:, such as mowing, mulching, harrowing, spraying, etc. The machine benefits are supported by multiple control options that are available through the PeK-developed TeroAir mobile application. All operations can be performed on slopes of up to 42°.

An article on ‘Robotics and Automation News’, a US based online platform dedicated to the latest news in the field of robotics technology, published a review of the Slopehelper autonomous robotic system.
The agricultural electric system Slopehelper performs most of the routine operations in vineyards and orchards, all-year round and in fully autonomous mode. While aiming at the local Slovenian market initially, the company has further expansion plans for the neighboring European countries, as well as overseas territories.

Global Organization For Agricultural Robotics (GOFAR) publishes an article about the Slopehelper full cycle agricultural autonomous robotic system.
Slopehelper system presents a multitask solution that performs autonomous operations during the entire agricultural cycle in vineyards and orchards. The system can operate in all weather conditions including the harsh ones. The built-in feature of collecting big data right from the field makes it fully compliant with Agriculture 4.0 requirements. Further development is going to bring downscale versions of the Slopehelper system to the market.

The local newspaper OKO informs its readers about a spectacular demonstration of modern mechanization solutions for vineyards that took place not far from Gostinci, Slovenia.
At the end of September 2021 a demonstration of the machines for viticulture was held in the Eastern part of Slovenia. The event was organized by VINIS, Association of Winegrowers and Winemakers of Slovenia. Together with other participants of the event, PeK Automotive introduced its autonomous robotic system Slopehelper that replaces hand labor in vineyards and orchards and performs all main operations on a plantation without the presence of a human.

During the “Agriculture of the Future” event organized by the Agricultural Institute of Slovenia on 31 August 2021, Mikhail Kostkin talks about the Slopehelper electric agricultural autonomous system and its advantages.

Ljudje in Zemlja (People and Earth), a regular TV show on RTV Slovenia presents the Slopehelper to its viewers.
Radio and Television of Slovenia, Channel 1, presents Fruit Growing of the Future, an event that took place in the Agricultural Institute of Slovenia in Brdo pri Lukovici on 31 August 2021. The Slopehelper, an agricultural robot developed in Vrhnika, demonstrated autonomy, preciseness and care about soil, – the features that are most expected from the agricultural robots in the future.

Bogatstvo zemlje (The Wealth of the Land), a regular TV show of Net TV in Slovenia, reviews a presentation of the Slopehelper to the members of the VINIS, Association of Winegrowers and Winemakers of Slovenia On Net TV program ‘Bogatstvo zemlje’ Slavko.
Toplišek , the President of the Association of Winegrowers and Winemakers of Slovenia, and Miran Jurak, the President of the Association of Winegrowers and Winemakers of Dolenjska region of Slovenia share their impressions and vision of the future application of autonomous and semi-autonomous robots in the everyday life of winegrowers.

In the article prepared for the 20th ISTVS International and 9th Americas Regional Conference Dr. Kostkin shares his approach to safety while developing the autonomous agricultural platform Slopehelper.

In the article dedicated to solving technological problems of electric caterpillar drive on a plantation Kostkin dwells upon the categories of the challenges an engineers faces while dealing with these problems and the ways to approach them.

Tomaž Poje reviews the event at the Agricultural Institute of Slovenia where the Slopehelper was demonstrated to the public together with tractors of other producers.
Slopehelper is an autonomous electric robot that is produced by PeK Automotive’s multi-national team in Vrhnika, Slovenia. The robot uses lithium batteries and uses a number of tools for regular operations in vineyards and orchards. The self-regulating cargo platform at the top of the vehicle adds to the uniqueness of the machine.

Jacopo Mazzeo from Wine Enthusiast compares today’s intellectual robots that help farmers in vineyards.
The application of robotics solutions in vineyards vary from predicting grape diseases to monitoring ripening or remote-sensing. The autonomous robot Slopehelper goers further than its competitors combining typical vineyard operations with remote monitoring system TeroAir.

Dr. Kostkin tells the readers of “Glas Gospodarstva” his story of relocating to Slovenia and provides details of the current and future operational features of the autonomous agricultural system Slopehelper.

The German magazine Eilbote writes about the Slopehelper in an article about modern robotics in agriculture.
The Slopehelper works on slopes of up to 45° and has a permanent tractive force of 2 tons. The self-regulating platform can carry a regular EU cargo bin or pallet.

New technology changes many branches of today’s economy fundamentally, and agriculture is no exception.
Agricultural robots present a possible solution to avoid a decrease in available food and deal with food security in the coming future. Safe and ecologically friendly, the Slopehelper takes over the routine work from farmers giving them more time for strategic planning and analysis.

Gian Basilio Nieddu reviews the autonomous electric system Slopehelper on a popular Italian website Vaielettrico that is dedicated to innovations in electric vehicles.
In a step away from Italy, a Slovenian company PeK Automotive developed an autonomous electric vehicle that covers 90% of farmer’s needs in vineyards and orchards. The innovative approach to agriculture reduces the use of fungicides, fossil fuels and eliminates harmful emissions.

Michael Barker dwells on the ability of the Slopehelper to work on slopes and flat plantations.
The self-stabilizing cargo platform, caterpillar drive and steel base frame mean the Slopehelper can handle slopes of up to 45 degrees with a total load capacity of as much as two tons. Thanks to the horizontal stabilization, the harvesting shelves are always held horizontally in a safe position. This design means that growers do not suffer fruit loss from being unable to reach difficult areas of the vineyard. The Slopehelper can navigate wet soil and operate in all weather conditions.

The autonomous robotic system Slopehelper proudly joins the Future Farming catalog of field and harvest robots.
With sealed and waterproof body, equipped with radars and differential GNSS, the Slopehelper presents an unrivaled electric vehicle to substitute hand labor in vineyards and orchards around the whole year.

UK horticulture journalist Michael Barker writes about the Slopehelper as an example of today’s digital farming revolution.
Designed for orchards and vineyards, the autonomous agricultural vehicle Slopehelper meets the high demand of contemporary farmers in terms of efficiency, durability and flexibility. The data processing onboard system provides access to real-time information and key metrics including data about wind, humidity, luminosity, temperature and time spent working.

Ben Coxworth from newatlas.com explores some basic features of the Slopehelper autonomous agricultural system.
The autonomous electric vehicle Slopehelper runs on rubber caterpillars, and is equipped with specific hinged tools for a variety of tasks such as mowing, weeding, mulching, spraying, harrowing, pruning and trimming. Justifying its name, it can operate on slopes of up to 45 degrees, traveling at a top speed of 10 km/h.

Michael Barker dwells on the ability of the Slopehelper to work on slopes and flat plantations.
The self-stabilizing cargo platform, caterpillar drive and steel base frame mean the Slopehelper can handle slopes of up to 45 degrees with a total load capacity of as much as two tons. Thanks to the horizontal stabilization, the harvesting shelves are always held horizontally in a safe position. This design means that growers do not suffer fruit loss from being unable to reach difficult areas of the vineyard. The Slopehelper can navigate wet soil and operate in all weather conditions.

Slovenian manufacturer PeK Automotivehas designed an autonomous system that can carry out a wide range of functions in difficult-to-navigate orchards and vineyards. Slopehelper operations range from pesticide application to trimming, mulching, harrowing, cutting and even harvesting. The machine’s artificial intelligence is constantly learning, adapting to new environments and reporting to operators wirelessly.

The Vrhnika-based company PeK AUTOMOTIVE doo is developing an electric autonomous vehicle (tractor) Slopehelper, intended for viticulture and fruit growing, and is testing it in the vineyards of Urban Petrič. The Slopehelper is equipped with various sensors that allow autonomous control of the vehicle. It has built-in encoders (incremental encoders), front and rear position radars (mechanically rotating radars), and side radars to maintain the distance from the type of plantation and to control the side working connections. It also has a built-in accelerometer and a front camera with FPV. Radar units are constantly scanning the area where the Slopehelper is located. They allow locating objects (plants, trees, people, etc.) with a distance of up to 30 meters.

The Slopehelper system is based on artificial intelligence using an algorithm to recognize and adapt to new situations. It adapts to the configuration of the species in the vineyard and performs work tasks autonomously. In essence, it uses radars to determine the position of species or the position of vine trunks. Then the computer itself drives the tractor around the vineyard.

Petra Subic from ‘Slovenske novice’ is surprised by the possibilities of the Slopehelper in a vineyard.
The autonomous electrical robot Slopehelper can work with two types of hinged equipment attached to the front and the rear part of the vehicle. Of the vehicle runs on an obstacle, it stops and sends an alert message to the operator via TeroAit mobile application. Having finished the task, the Slopehelper parks its equipment and waits at the end of the last row to be taken to the charging station.