US industrial technology firm Trimble will be 45 years old in November. This week Trimble Autonomy has announced its new advanced path planning technology as it takes the next step towards fully autonomous equipment. The new advanced path planning solution will provide Trimble’s end users and equipment manufacturers with the ability to optimise and automate the trajectory, speed and overall path design of farming and other industrial machinery.
With Trimble Autonomy, manufacturers worldwide can now provide their customers with an easy-to-integrate, automated solution that works not only with Trimble systems, but also with an equipment manufacturer’s existing system. The technology will also be available within Trimble Connected Farm and Trimble Construction Cloud, offering a seamless, end-to-end experience to Trimble end users.
Automated features for ease of set-up
Traditional path planning options require manual set-up, which impacts productivity, consistency and execution. By contrast, Trimble’s advanced path planning technology offers automated, full path, complete project trajectory from entry to exit, including logistics points. The technology allows plans to be created in the office and adjustments made in the field or worksite. In addition, it is optimised for complex fields, unique site shapes, obstacles and avoidance zones.
“Our new path planning technology is the next step in Trimble’s vision of making fully autonomous solutions available across industries, regardless of brand, type of equipment or use case,” said Finlay Wood, general manager, Off-Road Autonomy, Trimble. “With this easy-to-integrate solution, we’ve taken another significant step towards full autonomy. It enables our customers to reduce waste and simplify complex tasks, whether they are in the cab or not – part of our vision to meet operators where they are on their path toward fully autonomous solutions.”
This new software capability will enable a broad range of autonomous applications across for use in agriculture. Once implemented, it can allow customers to meet their emerging product and operational goals no matter where each one is on the autonomy journey.
Successful on-farm trials with HORSCH
Trimble field tested the technology with HORSCH, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of modern agricultural technology, integrating path planning technology into HORSCH’s self-propelled PT and VL sprayer series to provide an autonomous, four-wheel-drive solution.
“Through our work with Trimble, we were able to test the latest path planning technologies in real-time on farms to understand how the technology performed in real-world environments,” said Theo Leeb, managing director, HORSCH. “We had the opportunity to experience fully automated spraying for the first time ever. This is yet another example of how HORSCH is at the forefront of thought leadership for ag working practices. We’re two high-tech companies changing the future.”
