Assessment of Guidance Systems in Agriculture under European Conditions

1) Guidance in Europe (and in other continents too) have experienced highest attention during animal drafted field operations. 2) The move to tractor drawn implements induced a loss in precision. 3) First improvements produced fully automated tractor or field robot guidance systems (unreliable, expensive, unsophisticated) and were niche products only. 4) Automatic row guidance of self propelled choppers took a wide acceptation for the first time and is standard in newly sold machines for more than 15 years. 5) Also row guidance systems in sugar beet harvesters came early and are standard in all today used machines. 6) Laser-based guidance systems in combine harvesters were established, when header widths increased to more than 5 meters and are standard now in 7.5 and 9 m cutting width . 7) Ultra-sonic and optical guidance systems are on the market available too, but have not earned great importance so far. 8) GNNS-based guidance systems have an increased importance to farmers. The fast acceptance is mainly driven by cost: benefits and by comfort reasons.      «

1) Guidance in Europe (and in other continents too) have experienced highest attention during animal drafted field operations. 2) The move to tractor drawn implements induced a loss in precision. 3) First improvements produced fully automated tractor or field robot guidance systems (unreliable, expensive, unsophisticated) and were niche products only. 4) Automatic row guidance of self propelled choppers took a wide acceptation for the first time and is standard in newly sold machines for more...     »