There are three components to have installed on the tractor by a certified dealer. “The first is a control system, named Pathfinder, that is mounted to the side of the tractor,” Welbig said. “It controls the speed, steering and other functions to make a tractor move, steer or stop. That’s kind of like the brains of the system.” The control system is mounted away from the seat so an operator can still drive the tractor, Welbig added. The second part of the autonomous package is sensor arrays. This is installed up high behind the seat or on the cab. “That gives you your GPS and communications link as well as a camera that provides a forward view of the tractor,” Welbig said. And the final piece of the Bluewhite puzzle is the lidar sensor mounted to the front of the tractor. “That’s being utilized to see and is looking for trees or vines,” Welbig said. “It’s using computations to determine the path the tractor is driving.” Farmers monitor the autonomous tractors through a Bluewhite software application on a laptop or tablet. “It has a direct link to the tractor and that’s how you see the path plan, field boundaries and other pieces of data,” Welbig said. “The operator has real-time visibility, and the beauty is that you can run more than one tractor using that same experience. That’s where you get boosts in efficiency.” This autonomous technology solution isn’t widely available yet. Select New Holland dealers in the western U.S. have the rights to sell, distribute and service these kits. But producers with questions are encouraged to reach out to their dealers. “Please get in contact with us and ask questions,” Welbig said. “We anticipate that going into next year and beyond, we’ll scale up to more dealers, customers and regions.” Watch here to learn more and to see this technology in action. | pag WATCH THE VIDEO 05 “THE OPERATOR HAS REAL-TIME VISIBILITY, AND THE BEAUTY IS THAT YOU CAN RUN MORE THAN ONE TRACTOR USING THAT SAME EXPERIENCE.” PHOTO: newholland.com
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTQyMDk=