GPS World, January 2018

MACHINECONTROLUPDATE NovAtel Gets German Approval for Autosteer A new report describes the benefits growers can experience using NovAtels TerraStar C and TerraStar L precise point positioning PPP technology with a SMART6 L GNSS receiver for automatic steering The report DLG Test Report 6802 NovAtel SMART6 L receiver PPP Automatic Steering Test was issued by the German Agricultural Society or Deutsche Landwirtschafts Gesellschaft DLG DLG promotes technical and scientific progress in the agriculture and food sectors DLG awards a DLG APPROVED quality mark to farm machinery that passes a limited test program within a DLG usability test NovAtels SMART6 L became DLGAPPROVED after a PPP autosteering test Using a Fendt 828 Vario tractor combined with the Fendt VarioGuide RTK steering system and the NovAtel SMART6 L receiver steering accuracy was tested using both TerraStar C and TerraStar L correction services NovAtels TerraStar C correction service provides a 5 cm or less 95 position Precision Ag Market to Reach 5B in 2021 ADVERTISER INDEX COMPANIES FEATURED IN THIS ISSUE 42 GPS WORLD WWW GPSWORLD COM JANUARY 2018 accuracy and TerraStar L provides a 50 cm or less 95 position accuracy with a 15 cm pass to pass accuracy In the test NovAtels TerraStar C correction service achieved 2 3 cm system steering accuracy on an A B run on an even track at 8 km h and a 34 cm accuracy at 15 km h The longterm accuracy was reported at 3 4 cm over a 24 hour period Also the passto pass error was less than 3 cm over the duration of an hour The DLG test reported NovAtels TerraStar L correction service at 17 18 cm accuracy during an hour A B run on an even track at 8 km h and 10 11 cm accuracy on a contour run at 5 km h The pass to pass error remained below 15 cm for the duration of the tests DECEMBER 2017 WWW GPSWORLD COM GPS WORLD 42 ADVERTISER PAGE S CAST NAVIGATION INSIDE FRONT COVER COMNAV TECHNOLOGY 37 JAVAD GNSS 19 26 MUNICH SATELLITE NAVIGATION SUMMIT 11 NOVATEL BACK COVER ADVERTISER PAGE S NTLAB 5 RACELOGIC INSIDE BACK COVER SBG SYSTEMS 17 SEPTENTRIO 31 SKYDEL 15 ADVERTISER PAGE S SPIRENT FEDERAL 7 SWIFT NAVIGATION 13 TELEORBIT 29 UNICORE COMMUNICATIONS 35 T he global market for precision agriculture solutions is forecast to grow from 22 billion US 26 billion in 2016 at a compound annual growth rate CAGR of 136 percent to reach about 42 billion US 5 billion in 2021 according to a research report from the market analyst firm Berg Insight A set of technologies are applied in precision farming practices that are aimed at managing variations in the field to maximize yield raise productivity and reduce consumption of agricultural inputs While solutions such as auto guidance and machine monitoring and control via onboard displays are mainstream technologies in the agricultural industry telematics and variable rate technology VRT are still in the early stages of adoption Interoperability between hardware and software solutions remains a challenge although standardization initiatives led by organizations such as Agricultural Industry Electronics Foundation and AgGateway are making progress Most major agricultural equipment manufacturers have initiatives related to precision agriculture although strategies vary markedly Leading vendors include agricultural equipment manufacturer Deere Company followed by the U S based precision technology vendors Trimble Topcon Positioning Systems Raven Industries and Ag Leader Technology Hexagon further holds a strong position in the positioning segment through its subsidiary NovAtel A group of companies have emerged as leaders in the nascent market for in field sensor systems These include Davis Instruments Pessl Instruments with its METOS brand Semios Hortau AquaSpy and CropX