M-Planter


The Problem


There is a need in New Zealand to plant more trees! Partly, more trees are required to help solve the current extreme Timber shortage – due to the increased demand for the construction and export industry. Additionally, environmental reasons necessitate the need to plant more trees - such as for livestock shelter, shade, fodder, soil conservation, biodiversity and helping to offset climate change.

While planting more trees can result in significant benefits for land owners (and the country in general), there are some complexities to overcome. These include:

  • Working with a national labour shortage, limiting the rate at which new trees can be planted.(1)
  • Working with sub-optimal tree spacings, limiting the maximum land utilisation and yield.


M-Planter identified that the industry was in great need of improvement, and have designed machinery that has revolutionised the way trees can be planted, through custom planting equipment which can be fitted to a wide range of excavators. The machines can efficiently plant a range of tree species at several plants per minute.


Having accomplished the mission of increasing the rate in which trees can be planted, M-Planter turned it's attention to solving the issue of devising the optimum spacing requirement for planting. 


Read on to find out how Beta Solutions helped develop their novel solution.

Solution

M-Planter approached Beta Solutions to develop technology to accurately track the locations of planted trees, so that land utilisation could be maximised. The spacing between plants, known as the ‘planting grid’ is critical in order to use land efficiently, while allowing the trees sufficient space to grow and thrive.

Locations of tree plantations on the M-Planter app overlaid with a planting grid


Technologies

Beta Solutions utilised GPS to accurately track location to metre precision.

We implemented Bluetooth firmware on the device to send planting location data to an app created by M-Planter for phones and tablets.


Excavator

M-Planter required a device which could be installed on excavators to complement their existing planter devices.


We developed custom electronics, fitted into a robust enclosure, and interfaced to a wiring harness suitable for rugged industrial environments. This allowed the device to be installed in excavators with connections for power, and operator push buttons in the cabin.


An automotive-grade power supply was designed to allow the electronics to be reliably powered by the excavator’s battery and alternator system. It was required to work with both 12V and 24V electrical systems and tolerate the harsh electrical conditions presented by alternator voltage spikes.


To accurately track the planting locations, a rugged GPS antenna was selected to mount onto the planter and be wired back to the enclosure.

Spade

M-Planter also saw the opportunity for tree planting labourers, to utilise these same technologies for time efficiency.


The solution was a custom designed spade handle, which also acts as an enclosure for the electronics, with the following features:

  • Custom designed spade handle to house electronics – ergonomic, water-tight
  • Powered from rechargeable AA batteries – custom power supply designed for GPS and Bluetooth requirements. Low power standby to maximise battery life when not used.
  • Button with LED for marking planting location.
  • Vibration feedback for indicating whether location is available from GPS or not.


Summary

M-Planter identified that the forestry industry was in great need of improvement. In response to this, they designed custom planting equipment which can be fitted to a wide range of excavators.They created a solution that improves the efficiency of planting trees and land utilisation, and has the potential to fill the gap in current labour shortages. Beta Solutions partnered with M-Planter, designing technology that could accurately track the locations of planted trees, maximising land utilisation, as well as a device and specialist spade handle, to complement
M-Planter’s existing planter devices. We are proud of the innovative technology and electronic designs created for M-Planter, which help power efficiency within the forestry industry and have the potential to change the way this industry operates.


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