GNSS-based planning system for high-precision agriculture logistics

GeoPAL aims to design a high-precision farming application that is able to take advantage of Galileo and EGNOS, but also offers features that no other software currently offers. In current agricultural practice, vehicle drivers need to plan their own path over a field. This can either be done manually by the drivers, based on their own experience, or by drawing lines using a guidance system. The first objective of the project is for the planning system to calculate and optimise the path through the field. The second innovation aimed at is to develop a system able to guide the transport units to a machine that is working at a precise location in a field. The third aim is to solve the problem that tractor drivers seldom know the field exactly. For this the system guides the drivers to the intended field and makes sure they are working in the right field. The guidance is done by an innovative street-and-track navigation system that is able to calculate routes on field tracks to bridge the last mile between the street and the field. The drivers of the transport units can continuously be informed by the system about which field the machine is working in and when it is moving to the next field. Consequently, the transport unit will always drive to the correct field.