Accutrak - The Guidance System with a Difference
Accutrak’s Accusteering products improve on GPS guidance systems by taking the job of steering along parallel lines. The operator is left only with the task of turning the vehicle around at headlands and steering along obstacle boundaries.
Benefits GPS Accusteering
Precision guidance allows farmers to reduce costly overlap and missed areas thereby improving farming efficiency. It also allows them to continue working at times when visibility is reduced to ensure the job gets done. A wide array of GPS products are now available to farmers throughout the world.
Technology
The Accutrak Accusteering system consists of three components: a GPS receiver, an Accutrak Electronic Control Unit (ECU), and a hydraulic steering controller. The ECU makes navigation decisions based on the GPS signals and sends control instructions to the hydraulic steering controller.
The ECU can be mounted anywhere in the cab and connects to the GPS unit through a short data cable. Most commercially available GPS units will interface with the Accutrak. GPS-Ag will supply a GPS receiver unless you already have one.
Ease of use
The Accutrak is very easy to use. The operator simply drives a short initial line to allow the ECU to recognise the direction of travel. It then calculates a grid of parallel lines at a user specified width and steers the vehicle along these lines. When the operator needs to regain control of the vehicle he can override the ECU by simply turning the steering wheel. Alternatively, the operator can choose to pause the Accusteering function.
Versatility
The Accutrak can be fitted on any number of vehicles, including older vehicles with open centre hydraulics. The hydraulic installation is similar to the Autofarm™ so if you ever want to upgrade to 2cm Autosteer it will be simple.
Once a vehicle is fitted with hydraulics the ECU can be swapped from vehicle to vehicle in a matter of minutes. Simply mount the ECU in the cab and plug in the GPS and hydraulic control cables. Calibration data can be saved for up to three vehicles so within minutes you are operable.
Accuracy
The accuracy of the Accutrak depends on the GPS receiver mated to it, typically a sub metre DGPS like any other visual guidance system is used. If you already own a DGPS receiver you can use that. The Accutrak hydraulics gently steer the tractor along its line over a wide speed range. If the tractor does deviate for some reason the operator can simply turn the wheel to speed up the reacquisition of the line.
Reliability
The Accutrak has no moving parts and is extremely reliable. It comes with a 12 month warranty.
17-Aug-2006