Satellite guidance systems in agriculture: experimental comparison between EZ-Steer/RTK and AUTOPILOT/EGNOS

Abstract

The research has been conducted using two different satellite-guidance devices and two different correction systems of the GPS signal: the EZ-Steer/RTK and Autopilot/EGNOS. The machines used in the tests were the tractor New Holland T7060, the rotary harrow Alpego DG-400 and the burier Forigo DG-45, in order to determine which of the two systems ensured the best quality of work. On the basis of the results obtained it is clear that the EZ-Steer/RTK system, guarantees a lower stability of the theoretical trajectory compared to the Autopilot/EGNOS system, above 1,77%. From the elaboration of data of the two guidance systems behavior to manage the only width of transposition, it is observed that the EZ-Steer/RTK system is able to guarantee a better hold of the line compared to the Autopilot/EGNOS system, which provides a mistake of 164 cm on the total width of transposition and 2 cm on the mean value. In the matter of the normalized transposition surfaces, the Autopilot/EGNOS system ensures a better work quality.

Keywords

• Precision farming, guidance assistance, transposition