Trimble and VayaVision, a LeddarTech Company, have established an alliance to bring advanced perception technology to the agriculture sector.
The integration of VayaVision’s raw data sensor fusion and perception software platform with Trimble’s machine control technology will enable intelligent automation in the complex work environments found in farming. Together, Trimble and VayaVision expect to provide an innovative hardware and software portfolio, improving autonomous machine performance in a number of agricultural applications.
Reliable environmental mapping for improved autonomous farm machinery
The alliance is focused on advancing data fusion for multi-sensor systems such as LiDAR, cameras and GNSS, which are used to produce the reliable environmental mapping and intelligence critical for autonomous solutions. The result is expected to enable improvements in the performance of autonomous machines operating in challenging work farm environments or when supporting safety-critical applications.
The collaboration is set to improve operational efficiency, decrease labour costs and reduce project timelines, while also helping customers scale their automation efforts, from driver assistance features to fully autonomous solutions. The solutions created could augment or replace human control to create a safer work environment through path optimisation, obstacle avoidance and situational awareness, while sustainability will also be improved by using automation to optimise vehicle functionality and utilisation, reducing idle time, fuel consumption and environmental impact.
“Our business model is to collaborate with strategic partners to integrate our core technologies into their platform products which, in turn, can be used across multiple end applications. The alliance positions Trimble to deliver a highly capable path planning and autonomous system for the agriculture, construction and mining industries,” said Youval Nehmadi, director of perception engineering, LeddarTech. “Our LeddarVision perception software delivers advanced, flexible and robust 3D environmental solution for off-road and passenger car applications today.”
“Trimble has been connecting the physical and digital worlds with our best-in-class automation technologies for more than 20 years – whether it is in agriculture, construction or mining,” said Finlay Wood, business area director for Trimble’s Autonomous Solutions Division. “We see the demand for operator assistance, autonomous machines and workflow optimization accelerating dramatically and alliances such as this are a critical part of how we will bring added value to our customers in all levels of autonomy.”
