Kubota has launched WorkSmart Autosteer, a precision guidance system designed for compact and utility-sized equipment, bringing technology long associated with large row-crop tractors to smaller machines, Farms.com reports. It was unveiled at the Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa, and works on both new and existing Kubota equipment.
Kubota likens it to an autopilot: the operator stays in control and makes the field decisions while the system holds the guidance line, reducing steering fatigue. "WorkSmart Autosteer is not about removing the operator from the decision; it is about helping to remove fatigue and error from the equation," said Austin Hawkins, senior manager of technology sales and marketing for Kubota North America.
There are two correction options. SBAS (WAAS) correction gives repeatable pass-to-pass accuracy of about six to eight inches with no subscription. A PPP correction, which needs an annual subscription, gives about one-inch accuracy for specialty crops and other work where small differences in position affect yield, quality or marketability. Both run through the same interface and a WorkSmart Autosteer app for iOS and Android.
Unlike many aftermarket kits built for big tractors, the system is engineered for the specific Kubota model it is fitted to, and it is bought, financed, installed, serviced and warrantied through one dealer; installation takes about two hours. Kubota says less overlap between passes can cut waste of seed, fertilizer and crop protection products and help newer operators match experienced ones. It sees uses in livestock and hay operations, specialty crops, orchards and vineyards, mowing, spraying, spreading and cultivation.
Tom Butner of Marshall Service Company in Missouri, which has installed it for a row-crop producer and a hay operation, said steering performance had been strong and ease of use was a main selling point for first-time guidance users.
Photo: Novoklimov / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
Source: Farms.com
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