I should not liken an autonomous grain cart solution to a digital AI assistant on a smartphone... In all seriousness PTx Trimble is at it again. This time with OutRun, the retrofittable autonomous grain cart kit that will transform your tractor into your favorite grain cart operator. Farms.com Precision Ag Digital Digest recently connected with the experts at PTx Trimble to learn as much as we could about this new solution. The technology currently works on John Deere 8R or 8000R tractors (model years 2014 and newer) with IVT, but it will be supporting mixed fleets in the future says Dinen Subramaniam, OutRun Senior Product Manager. The OutRun kit is mounted to the roof of the tractor. Once installed, it allows the combine driver to direct the tractor via a tablet. It only takes a day or two to set this system up on a tractor—work with a PTX Trimble dealership on install though, this is not a “try this at home” task. From the cab of the combine, the operator can use a tablet to instruct the grain cart to complete several tasks. STAGE/POSITION By simply clicking a button you can position that grain cart in the field. The system keeps track of coverage (how much of the field has been harvested) which opens the area in which the cart can operate. The path planning technology will also avoid any obstacles within the field. You can instruct the grain cart on where to go and which direction to face when it gets there. The system will also map a route for the grain cart so you can see exactly the path it will take to the destination (it will go from point A to B as quickly as possible). It is not a free-for-all in the field though; the grain cart will attempt to follow the same path that the combine took so that the traffic in the field is controlled. CALL FOR PICKUP A single click on the tablet will initiate the grain cart to catch up to the combine in the field when it is time to unload. The grain cart will then match the combine’s speed so that the combine can unload on-the-go. Functionality does not end there though. The combine operator can adjust exactly where it would like to unload in that grain cart by pressing a button. And if the combine stops, the grain cart will automatically stop as well. 14 SIRI, DRIVE MY GRAIN CART Grain Cart Autonomy with OutRun by PTx Trimble RYAN RIDLEY MANAGING EDITOR PHOTOS: outrunag.com, Yeti Studio – stock.adobe.com 1 2
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