Automated farming system for a row crop installation

A farming system for a row crop installation, comprising:

• a first plurality of plants and a second plurality of plants disposed along a first longitudinal axis and a second longitudinal axis and mutually spaced along a transverse direction to form a first row and a second row, the plants of each row extending in two dimensions in a corresponding vertical plane passing through the respective longitudinal axis;
• a supporting structure configured to support the plants and including, for the first row and the second row, a first plurality of posts and a second plurality of posts disposed and spaced from each other along the first and second longitudinal axes, respectively;
• a first rail connected to the first plurality of posts and a second rail connected to the second plurality of posts, the first rail and the second rail being oriented longitudinally and spaced transversely from each other to define a track spaced from the soil and parallel to a profile defined by the soil;
• and
• a trolley coupled to the first rail and to the second rail to be movable along the track and including a movement actuator configured to move the trolley on the track.

A mobile platform for working on a row crop installation, comprising:

• a frame;
• one or more working units, each including an operational device configured to perform predetermined operations on the installation;
• a plurality of rolling elements connected to the frame and at least partly held in contact with a track on which the platform is slidable;
• and
• a plurality of elastic elements, each connected to a corresponding rolling element and preloaded in order to apply a contact force between the plurality of rolling elements and the track.

A supporting structure for a row crop installation, the supporting structure comprising:

• a first plurality of posts disposed on a first row spaced from each other along a first longitudinal axis;
• a second plurality of posts spaced from each other along a second longitudinal axis and disposed on a second row which is transversely spaced from the first row;
• a first rail connected to the first plurality of posts, and a second rail connected to the second plurality of posts, the first rail being spaced transversely from the second rail to define a track extending along the respective first and second longitudinal axes;
• a first plurality of connecting arms connected to the first plurality of posts and to the first rail, and a second plurality of connecting arms connected to the second plurality of posts and to the second rail.

A method for farming a row crop installation, comprising the following steps:

• preparing a first plurality of plants and a second plurality of plants disposed along a first and a second longitudinal axis, respectively, and mutually spaced along a transverse direction to form a first row and a second row, the plants of each row extending in two dimensions in a corresponding vertical plane passing through the respective longitudinal axis;
• supporting the first and the second plurality of plants by means of a supporting structure including a first and a second plurality of posts, respectively, the posts of the first and the second plurality of posts being disposed along the corresponding first and second row and being spaced from each other along the corresponding first and second longitudinal axis;
• connecting a first rail to the first plurality of posts, and connecting a second rail to the second plurality of posts, the first and second rails being oriented longitudinally and spaced transversely from each other to define a track;
• moving a trolley along the track by means of a movement actuator.

A transport system for transporting goods along a highway route from a first position to a second position, comprising:

• a first separator element, extending along a longitudinal direction and configured to separate the lanes of the highway route having opposite travelling directions;
• a second separator element, disposed in parallel with the first separator element and configured to separate the lanes of the highway route, the second separator element being spaced from the first separator element to define an inter-lane space;
• a first rail, connected to the first separator element, and a second rail, connected to the second separator element, wherein the first and second rails face the inter-lane space and wherein the first rail is spaced from the second rail to define a track extending along the longitudinal direction;
• and
• a platform, movable along the track.