Technology has invaded every sphere of modern life. And agriculture is no exception. Just as tractors replaced horses as the main source of traction, global positioning systems have replaced human eyes, and automatic and parallel steering systems have freed operators’ hands.
Despite the fact that most modern self-propelled equipment comes fitted with navigation systems straight from the factory, it’s worth remembering machines with “experience” too, ones that can be given a second life. Today, two systems for tractor steering are widespread on the Ukrainian market: hydraulic ones, installed directly into the hydraulic system, delivering high precision on any type of field; and electric ones, an electric motor mounted directly on the machine’s steering column, letting you achieve high steering precision at an affordable price.
Trimble is a pioneer in navigation equipment and automation systems for agricultural machinery, and its advanced technical solutions rightfully let it hold a leading position in precision agriculture. “Astra” offers its clients the best, time-tested technologies, without which modern farming is unimaginable:
Trimble Autopilot™ is a hydraulic automatic-steering system, guiding your machine’s movement along a set route with high precision. If the machine drifts off course, it lets you correct the movement and return to the right path regardless of the field’s shape or terrain type, while the operator can, in the meantime, focus on carrying out current operations. Any type of imported self-propelled equipment can be fitted with this system.
Trimble EZ-Pilot Pro® is auxiliary steering with a built-in electric drive for high precision at an affordable price. The EZ-Pilot steering system provides high-precision steering at an affordable price. As the operator drives their tractor, the EZ-Pilot system turns the wheel using a compact electric drive. The system’s popularity is driven by its versatility: it can be installed on any type of self-propelled equipment, domestic or imported.
Using automatic-steering and parallel-driving systems isn’t possible without a quality navigation display. “Astra” offers its clients a lineup of five models:
EZ-Guide® 250 System is an entry-level display that provides high-quality navigation capabilities at an entry-level price. It’s ideal for farmers wanting basic precision-agriculture functions for fields that need correction with less precision.
CFX-750 ™ is an affordable, multifunctional display that provides key precision-agriculture functions. It can be connected to trailed equipment and control the process of sowing, fertilizer application and crop-protection application. Its intuitive interface makes it easy to set up equipment and carry out everyday agricultural tasks. What’s more, the display can receive satellite and ground-based correction signals for automatic tractor steering with accuracy down to two centimeters. It works with two satellite systems, GPS and GLONASS.
GFX-750 ™ is a completely new navigation display that meets every modern requirement. Built on the Android operating system, on the outside it doesn’t look much different from the mobile phones or tablets we’re used to, letting you get familiar with its functionality within the first few minutes. Its distinguishing feature is a combined antenna and navigation controller. This innovation lets you quickly mount navigation equipment on machinery and control it with maximum precision. What’s more, the display supports the ISOBUS standard, which lets you get rid of several displays in the cab and control all equipment from a single display.
TMX-2050 ™ is a top-tier navigation display, specially designed to solve a complex range of technical tasks, from controlling the machine and trailed units, to application-rate control, through to yield monitoring, field leveling and drainage-tile installation.
Today no one’s surprised anymore by a tractor fitted with an automatic or parallel steering system, but there are accompanying technologies that make the process of managing a tractor even more efficient and autonomous. Here are a few of them:
Trimble RTX ™ is a global positioning technology based on high-precision satellite signals, letting you control equipment with accuracy down to two centimeters across the whole country’s territory, with no need to connect to the internet or to RTK base stations.
The technology’s effectiveness is confirmed by its use not only on Trimble displays, but also on displays from other manufacturers: Fendt, Valtra, Case, New Holland and others.
Next Swath ™ is a fully automatic turn system that increases the efficiency and precision of all agricultural operations. When it reaches the end of the field, NextSwath independently calculates and chooses the optimal turn path, which reduces trampling on turns and avoids driving along the same track when repeating an operation.
AutoSync ™ is an innovative function that runs in the background on displays and automatically syncs all navigation lines, field names, boundaries, materials, equipment, and information about completed operations. All collected data is stored in the Trimble AG cloud and available for downloading onto other displays. What’s more, this data can be used for planning and tracking completed work.
A full range of equipment and functions for precision agriculture lets us solve the boldest technological challenges for our clients.
Yevgen Kondratyev
Tel.: +38 50 450 47 82
Е-mail: e.kondratyev@astra–gro
