Base, the shared reference and dock
One reference for positioning, a mission planner and a covered charging dock. Base connects Scout, Row Weeder and Alley Weeder into a fleet. The hardware and charging system are proposed designs.
Steel-panel dock design, shown shut or open. The two views show the model’s geometry, not a tested charging installation.
One datum for every machine
Scout’s map and every ground machine must share one RTK reference datum. If independently positioned bases disagree, their offset follows every weed from the aerial map to the rover. Compatible receiver pairs may differ, but they must use the same recorded reference coordinate.
From a map to work
The fleet’s navigation stack is ArduPilot + MAVLink: Copter on Scout, Rover on Alley Weeder, and MAVLink missions from the planner at Base. Row Weeder keeps its four-wheel steer and its own drive controller, speaking MAVLink to the same planner. The interface is the shared contract; the machines retain control of their own tools.
Base assigns work by tool and keeps one ledger for every weed. A rover confirms targets locally before acting. The planned ledger is a GeoJSON file that can run offline from a USB copy.
A dock from ordinary stock
The dock is a 2×4 frame with ag steel panels on the walls and lid, farm-store hinges and opener hardware, and printed guides and housings. Plywood stays in the insulating pad and V-groove wings. The landing optics and charge electronics require specialist parts.
The model’s cut list calls for 11 eight-foot studs, 2 plywood sheets and 10 ag steel panels. Store panel profile and coverage still need checking. The lid’s actual mass, struts, mounts and opener compatibility need physical qualification.
When the pad may go live
Two brass-faced shoes seat in guided grooves and meet two charging contacts. The proposed relay stays open unless both seat switches are down, the probe reads within 13.2–16.5 V, and the pack temperature is 5–40 °C. The probe is intended to reject an open pad, a wet short and a full pack before charging power is connected.
A charge-port BMS and blocking diode are part of the design. The voltage probe, pack-temperature signal, wet-contact rejection and fail-open wiring all need bench tests. The model does not certify the circuit.
Heat, fire and the season
White steel panels, low and high vents and a fan address summer heat. A galvanized pan beneath the aircraft and a thermal cutoff in series with the charge-relay coil address the charging hazard. The steel box is bonded to the protected inlet’s ground. The thermal cutoff is not a smoke detector, and the pan and wooden guides are not a fire-rated enclosure.
Charging is specified at 1C or less; airflow, cutoff response and the electrical protections remain unproven. Launch also requires the lid open and the wind and rain checks clear.
Warm-season only: Scout, both rovers, the dock, packs and chargers go out above freezing and live in a heated shed in winter. The dock has no heater.
Design basis: FLEET.md, BASE.md, DOCK.md and the dock model’s generated cut list. This page describes the shared reference and product design.