Mar 1, 2009 12:00 PM, By David Hest

AGCO Expects to introduce its second-generation guidance system, Auto-Guide², to the market in the last half of 2009. Auto-Guide² will incorporate the latest electronics, receiver and navigation technology, which will allow use of satellite signals from U.S. GPS satellites, as well signals from the Russian GLONASS and European Galileo satellite systems.

The system was developed in partnership with TSD Integrated Controls, a joint venture between Topcon Positioning Systems and Sauer-Danfoss.

Auto-Guide² will allow key navigation components to be easily transferred from vehicle to vehicle. The GNSS antenna, receiver, terrain compensation and controller will be housed in a single unit, called a TopDock, which will mount on the vehicle roof.

minimal when moving among compatible AGCO vehicles.

The base unit will be set up for sub-meter and decimeter guidance accuracies, with no unlock codes for various guidance patterns. Steering at the real-time kinematic (RTK) level will require a simple snap-in module that contains enhanced inertials and the radio for communicating with the RTK correction source.

The TopDock will plug into Auto-Guide²-ready machines and operate through the machine's ISO-compatible terminal without the need for additional screens in the cab. The one display will operate the tractor, Auto-Guide² and ISO-compatible implements.

“This will allow true one-button farming,” Craker says. For example, up to 36 tractor functions, including engagement of Auto-Guide², will be able to be controlled through the tractor's headland management system. “That is something you can't do if you don't have your [navigation] system integrated into your tractor,” he says.

Pricing for AutoGuide² has not been announced.

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