Ronovatec's previous autonomous mowers were controlled by a PLC (programmable logic controller), a sea of relay logic, as well as various peripherals, some purchased or self-developed subsystems. With the integration of all these components into a central controller, the primary goal is to radically optimise costs. This is achieved on the one hand by using significantly fewer components and suppliers, by using generic instead of specialised components, which leads to fewer dependencies, by reducing the amount of wiring and thus production costs, by combining functions and logical units and, above all, by a central control and software unit.
The central controller, the pre-series of which is currently in production, consists of a powerful computer to which all the required peripherals, such as sensors, drives, monitoring, user interface, safety, network, etc., are directly connected through high-speed interfaces. Everything is integrated on a single PCB (printed circuit board), including the generation of all required voltages. A majority of the cable connections in the previous vehicle are now only copper tracks on the circuit board.
At the same time, the new software for the controller is under development. It runs on a real-time operating system and has a completely modular structure. In addition to safety functions, the focus is on the precise localisation of the vehicle and its orientation as well as on the predictive controller for accurately driving along its path.
The goals are ambitious, but we are well on track.
Jürg, Member of the Board
