Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - February 2021 - 26

ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT

" If you want to fundamentally improve your economics, you go electric. "
- Zachary Omohundro, Monarch Tractor co-founder and CTO

Monarch Tractor is a fully
electric and " driver optional "
tractor aimed at the popular
compact segment of the
tractor market.

Advantage: electric

Although Monarch's developers would
not reveal specifics about the tractor's
battery capacity, they said it is capable
of powering the tractor for up to six

With 40 hp nominal and up
to 70 hp peak, the Monarch's
battery capacity is sufficient
for a full day of almost all work
situations, the company said.

26 February 2021

hours at high load and as long as 8-10
hours for nominal operations.
Recharging at 220V is completed in 4-5
hours. The 3-point hitch and rear power
takeoff (540 rpm) were designed to
accept all the implements available for
a conventional tractor's PTO as well as
" the next generation of smart implements. " A novel idea is a camera dedicated to the PTO to assure proper connection and to safely cut power if trouble is detected.
Engineers demonstrated another useful feature: an AC electric outlet near
the cab enables work in the field with
power tools and other electric devices
without the need for a separate generator. And Omohundro said fully electric
propulsion and PTO makes for a muchsimplified cockpit and controls setup.
Traction control and stability control are
standard, and the battery is packaged
where the engine typically resides. The
tractor has a 2200-lb (1000-kg) lift capacity; 4WD is optional.
Bill Visnic

TRUCK & OFF-HIGHWAY ENGINEERING

BOTH IMAGES: MONARCH TRACTOR

lidar sensing, its sensors currently consist of 360-degree camera vision and
GPS, as well as a weather station also
incorporated into the roof.
Monarch's creators see considerable
utility in the tractor's interactive automated functions. Gesture and Shadow
modes follow a worker's actions or visual
instruction, while copycat mode and
mission planning can driverlessly execute previously " seen " operations.
Omohundro said the tractor is more than
capable of leaving a barn or other place
of storage and returning to that location
without a driver. He added that although
the Monarch's fully electric operation is
the prime feature, the company does not
intend to sell the tractor without its automation and sensing hardware.
The sensors " provide critical data
points that can be used for real-time
implement adjustments as well as longterm yield estimates, current growth
stages and other plant/crop health metrics, " Monarch said. Additionally, the
company claims that onboard machine
learning offers long-term analysis of
field health - and improves accuracy
the longer it runs.

Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - February 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - February 2021