Abstract
The high-precision positioning and navigation of agricultural machinery represent a backbone for precision agriculture, while its worldwide implementation is in rapid growth. Previous studies improved low-cost global navigation satellite system (GNSS) hardware solutions and fused GNSS data with complementary sources, but there is still no affordable and flexible framework for positioning accuracy assessment of agricultural machinery. Such a low-cost method was proposed in this study, simulating the actual movement of the agricultural machinery during agrotechnical operations. Four of the most commonly used GNSS corrections in Croatia were evaluated in two repetitions: Croatian Positioning System (CROPOS), individual base station, Satellite-based Augmentation Systems (SBASs), and an absolute positioning method using a smartphone. CROPOS and base station produced the highest mean GNSS positioning accuracy of 2.4 and 2.9 cm, respectively, but both of these corrections produced lower accuracy than declared. All evaluated corrections produced significantly different median values in two repetitions, representing inconsistency of the positioning accuracy regarding field conditions. While the proposed method allowed flexible and effective application in the field, future studies will be directed towards the reduction of the operator’s subjective impact, mainly by implementing autosteering solutions in agricultural machinery.
Highlights
The advancement of positioning and navigation technology using global navigation satellite systems (GNSSs) ensures its growing use in both precision agriculture and conventional farming [1]
Tested GNSS correction variants produced higher positioning accuracy in the first repetition characterized with the lower Geometric Dilution of Precision (GDOP), with the exception of Satellite-based Augmentation Systems (SBASs)
This study presented a low-cost method of GNSS positioning accuracy assessment for agricultural machinery, based on the commonly used GNSS corrections in Croatia
Summary
The advancement of positioning and navigation technology using global navigation satellite systems (GNSSs) ensures its growing use in both precision agriculture and conventional farming [1] These systems improved multiple aspects of agricultural production since their inception, most notably regarding the accuracy of agrotechnical operations, enabled working hours under lower visibility conditions, as well as lower fatigue for the workers [2]. The relative observation techniques using GNSS, most notably real-time-kinematic (RTK), provide corrections up to 2 cm for horizontal and up to 4 cm for vertical positioning accuracy [5]. This positioning accuracy ensures high performance for any agrotechnical operation in precision agriculture [6].
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