Hexagon has shown a guidance system that steers tractors through vineyards, orchards and citrus groves by looking at the crop rows, without depending on satellite signals. Called Senvisio, it was presented at the EIMA International machinery fair in Bologna, Italy.
The system uses cameras mounted on the tractor and onboard image processing to pick out trunks, vines, trellis posts and canopy edges in real time, and turns that into steering. Hexagon says it was developed in house and needs no guidance lines, pre-mapped fields or GNSS position to follow a row.
Satellite guidance with GNSS and RTK correction is the standard on broadacre farms, but in permanent crops it has blind spots. Dense canopies, overhead netting and narrow rows can weaken or block the signal, which is why makers of specialty-crop machines are adding computer vision alongside satellite positioning, LiDAR and radar.
"For a vineyard or orchard operator, keeping a machine centred through long, narrow rows takes sustained concentration," said Eric Wuestefeld, president of Hexagon's Agriculture Division. "Senvisio uses the crop row itself to guide the machine."
Hexagon says the aim is to cut operator fatigue and keep the machine in a steadier line during spraying, mowing and fertiliser application, so that it is less likely to hit vines, trees, posts or irrigation lines.
The company plans to sell Senvisio from 2027, both as a retrofit kit and fitted at the factory on compatible machines.
Photo: Hahn Family Wines / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
Source: AgNavigator
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