Configure
The Configure view is where you set up each robot's schedule, change its settings, check its health, and reset it if needed. It is also where you manage the audio playlist used for bird scaring and enable push notifications.
The page has a panel for each robot, followed by the bird-scaring playlist and push notification settings at the bottom.
Robot Panels
Each robot panel is headed by the robot's name and contains three sections:
| Section | Used for |
|---|---|
| Schedule | Setting when the robot runs programs and when it charges. |
| Settings | Assigning the robot to a farm. |
| State | Checking the robot's health, and resetting it or clearing obstacles. |
Renaming a Robot
- Double-click the robot's name.
- Type the new name, for example
Lance. - Double-click again to save.
The robot is shown under its new name throughout the dashboard.
Schedule
A schedule is made up of a charge policy, which controls when the robot charges, and any number of activities, which control when it runs programs.
To create a schedule, click Create schedule. The schedule dialog opens, where you can add activities, set the charge policy, and save your changes.
Once the schedule is saved, turn it on using the robot's Schedule toggle in the Monitor view.
Charge Policy
There are two charge policies.
Charge Between
The robot charges during a set time window. The default window is 8:00 pm to 6:00 am.
When the start time is reached, the robot returns to its dock and charges, whether it is in the middle of an activity or sitting idle. It stops charging at the end time. The charge window takes priority over all activities.
Set the window using the Charge start time and Charge end time fields.
Charge When Idle
The robot returns to charge whenever it has nothing to do. This policy has no settings.
This policy has the lowest priority. The robot never interrupts an activity to charge, and only returns to its dock when no other activity is due to run.
Activities
Activities tell the robot which programs to run and when. A schedule can have as many activities as you need. To add one, click Add activity.
Run Policy
The run policy at the top of the activity dialog sets when the activity runs.
| Run policy | Behaviour |
|---|---|
| Run at | Runs the activity once, starting at the time you set, and continues until it is complete. The default time is 12:00 am. |
| Run between | Runs the activity continuously between a start and end time, repeating the sequence until the end time. |
A Run at activity only starts if the robot is idle when its start time passes.
A Run between activity can start at any point during its window, whenever the robot is looking for a new activity.
When a Run between activity reaches its end time, it interrupts whatever the robot is doing and stops. What happens next depends on the charge policy:
- Charge when idle: The robot becomes idle and returns to its dock to charge.
- Charge between: The robot stays idle where it is until the charge window opens, then returns to its dock.
Schedule Priority
When more than one part of the schedule could run, the robot decides using the following order, from highest to lowest priority:
- Charge between. When the charge window opens, the robot stops whatever it is doing and returns to charge. A Run at activity will run to completion unless the charge window opens first.
- Activities. Run at activities start only if the robot is idle at their start time. Run between activities start whenever the robot is looking for a new activity during their window. If several Run between windows overlap, the one with the earliest start time runs.
- Charge when idle. The robot returns to charge only when no activity is due to run.
Adding Programs and Waits
An activity is a sequence of programs and waits. You can add as many as you need.
- Click Add program to add a program to the sequence.
- Click Add wait to add a pause between programs. Wait times are in minutes.
For example, a Run at 8:00 am activity could contain:
Bird Scaring Loop- Wait 30 minutes
Bird Scaring Loop
At 8:00 am, the robot runs the bird-scaring loop, waits 30 minutes, runs the loop again, and then the activity is complete.
Start the day with a sweep
A Run at activity early in the morning is a good way to start the day with a perimeter sweep, pushing birds off the property before a Run between activity takes over with a regular pattern for the rest of the day.
A Run between activity works the same way. For example, running Bird Scaring Loop followed by a 15-minute wait between 10:00 am and 3:00 pm repeats that pair continuously until 3:00 pm.
Managing Entries
Each program or wait in an activity has controls on its right:
| Control | Action |
|---|---|
| Up/down arrows | Move the entry up or down in the sequence. |
| Orange circle | Temporarily disable the entry. Disabled entries are greyed out and skipped. Click again to re-enable. |
| Red X | Delete the entry from the activity. |
Temporarily excluding a block
If you have several blocks in rotation and pickers or a tractor are working in one of them, disable that block's program rather than deleting it. The activity keeps its structure, so when the block is clear you can re-enable the program with a single click.
Saving an Activity
When you are happy with the activity, click Save changes. The activity becomes part of the robot's schedule, which you can turn on with the Schedule toggle in the Monitor view.
Settings
Use the Farm drop-down to choose which farm the robot is associated with. If you move robots between sites, update this setting when the robot arrives at the new farm.
More settings coming soon
Additional settings will be added to this section, including default vehicle speed, volume level, obstacle detection range, and the maximum slope angle the robot can operate on.
State
The State section shows the robot's health and general condition.
Motors
For each of the robot's four motors:
| Value | Description |
|---|---|
| Speed | Current motor speed. |
| Current | Current being drawn by the motor. |
| Voltage | Voltage supplied to the motor. |
| Firmware | Motor driver firmware version. |
| Temperature | Motor driver temperature. |
Computer
Shows the onboard computer's temperature and computing statistics.
Battery
| Value | Description |
|---|---|
| Voltage | Current reported battery voltage. |
| Current | Current supplied to the robot. This is negative while the battery is charging. |
| Capacity | Amp hours remaining in the current charge cycle. |
| Cycles | Number of charge cycles the battery has completed. |
| Temperature | Battery temperature. |
Battery life
The robot's batteries are expected to retain 80% of their capacity after 3,000 charge cycles. With a full charge cycle every day, that is roughly 10 years of use.
The greater risk to battery life is poor treatment, such as:
- Leaving the battery discharged or overcharged for long periods.
- Extreme temperature cycling.
- Charging at low temperatures.
A well-looked-after battery should not be the first component to fail on the robot.
Reset Robot
Click Reset robot to restart the robot's system. Try this if something is wrong with the robot, such as losing its GPS fix or failing to run a program.
Clear Obstacles
When the robot meets an obstacle, it stops. If the obstacle does not move, the robot adds it to its map and plans a new path around it, which may mean backtracking.
Occasionally a robot can become boxed in between obstacles it has recorded. These may be real, such as a car parked on a headland, or false detections, for example caused by sun glare as the robot crests a hill.
If the robot has a clear route home but recorded obstacles are blocking it, click Clear obstacles to remove all obstacles from the robot's internal map.
Bird-Scaring Playlist
The playlist controls which audio tracks the robot plays while bird scaring, and how often each is played.
Use the drop-down in the top right to choose whether you are editing the playlist for all robots or for one specific robot.
Playlist Entries
Each row in the playlist is one audio track, with the following controls:
| Control | Action |
|---|---|
| Orange button | Sets the track as active or inactive. Only active tracks are played. |
| Interval | How often the track is played, in minutes. |
| Blue play button | Previews the track on your own device. |
| Red delete button | Deletes the track from the system. |
Tip
Use the preview button to check which track is which. This is especially useful for bird calls, which can be hard to tell apart by name.
Building a Playlist
A good playlist mixes music at long intervals with bird calls at short intervals:
- Music: Add around half a dozen preferred songs, each played about once an hour. This adds variety for anyone working in the orchard.
- Bird calls: Add predator and distress calls, such as kārearea calls and starling distress calls, played every 2–5 minutes.
The robot is always making noise, with some variety from the music tracks.
Uploading a Track
- In the last row of the playlist, click Browse and choose an audio file on your phone or computer.
- Enter a name for the track. Choose a name that tells you where the track came from and what it is for, for example
Recorded Bird Calls. - Click Upload. The track appears in the playlist.
- Set the track's active state and interval.
- Click Save changes.
The robot adds the track to its playlist straight away.
Push Notifications
Click Enable push notifications at the bottom of the page to receive notifications on your phone from your robots.
The robot sends a notification if it becomes stuck, or if it is unable to run a program it has been given. This lets you respond in real time, instead of checking on the robot at regular intervals.
Notifications work in your browser, or through the dashboard if you have installed it as an app on your phone.