Precision agriculture ‘on the cheap’ with a lightbar
Agricision’s onTrak lightbar guidance system is attached to the bonnet of a tractor, and alerts the driver if he is going off course in whatever task he is carrying out.
Used in conjunction with a free downloadable app on an iPhone or iPad, it make satellite guidance more affordable, at a price of £675.
It connects wirelessly using Bluetooth, and can be easily swapped between vehicles.
The operator inputs the tractor and implement width, and sets a line of travel.
A green signal on the lightbar shows he is on course, going off course brings a red light on either side.
Accuracy is to the industry standard 20-30cm.
Guidance records can be stored against a field name for future use. Guidance can be paused, to refill a sprayer or spreader, for example, before resuming when returning to the stop point.
A receiver in the lightbar is powered by a rechargeable battery with 24 hours operating capacity.
Adam Keene, Director of Agricision, who has worked as an agricultural contractor, said onTrak is ideal for farmers who don’t need sophisticated auto-steer GPS systems, but can benefit from the increased accuracy offered by guidance.
Mr Keene won a 2016 award from MassChallenge, which awards over $2m per year in equity-free cash prizes to help high-impact startups.
The onTrak app only requires an Internet connection to install periodic updates. It can also be used for field size calculation and recording of worked area.
