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New automatic guidance systems from John Deere
John Deere’s new automatic headland management system iTEC Pro (intelligent Total Equipment Control) is currently being piloted on John Deere 8030 Series tractors equipped with the AutoTrac guidance system. The iTEC Pro system was recently awarded a gold medal at the 2007 SIMA show in Paris, and will be featured working in the demonstration plots at Cereals 2007 in June, prior to full availability in November.
John Deere’s AutoTrac automatic steering system represents the state of the art in automatic guidance. It provides accuracy levels down to +/- 2cm, in both straight lines and curves, via the CurveTrac feature. When combined with John Deere’s GreenStar 2 displays, AutoTrac operates seamlessly alongside ISOBUS implement control, documentation functions including on-screen mapping, and a truly comprehensive tractor performance monitor.
The key advantages of automatic guidance are now well established: reduced overlap leading to savings in fuel, seed, fertiliser and pesticides, as well as higher working speeds, improved productivity and correspondingly higher levels of operator comfort. Now, for the very first time in the agricultural industry, iTEC Pro combines automatic guidance (AutoTrac) with an active headland management system (John Deere’s Implement Management System, IMS).
During field work, iTEC Pro automatically controls the entire headland turn. Raising implements out of work, turning the tractor around and putting implements back into work again are all done with ease and precision. Even forward speed changes, pto switching and the raising or lowering of front and rear linkages are completed automatically and at exactly the right position in the field.
The benefits are clear – headland turns are completed 25 to 30 per cent faster than before, with an accuracy and consistency that no human operator can match. The operator’s overall workload is also dramatically reduced; given the increasing complexity of modern field work, this is of huge importance to both farmers and contractors.
Reduced headland overlaps will also result in additional input savings, while even the soil structure can benefit from reduced wheeling damage and more precise turns.
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