TU Graz develops autonomous electric compost turner

Together with the company Pusch & Schinnerl, researchers at TU Graz are developing an autonomous electric compost turner. Pusch & Schinnerl By Christoph Pelzl The new machine is intended to facilitate industrial composting and makes autonomous driving acceptable for chain-driven machines as well. Turning and mixing large compost heaps are important steps in composting to speed up the rotting process. Composting plants and agricultural businesses use mostly tractor-drawn turners or a diesel-powered compost turner with crawler track. The operators of these machines are exposed to extremely unpleasant conditions due to the slow travel speeds (from 50 to 300 m/h ), high ambient temperatures, the gases released and the odours that occur during the turning process. As part of the ANTON (Autonomous navigation for tracked compost turners) research project, researchers from the Institute of Logistics Engineering and the Institute of Geodesy at TU Graz are currently working on an autonomous compost turner that will be able to carry out the turning process without the need for personnel in the future - and in an environmentally friendly manner: The new machine is operated with a battery electric drive concept that has already been successfully tested in preliminary research projects. Innovative navigation system.