Le 28/01/2025
Hexagon Keeps Autonomous Equipment on Track
Advanced positioning technology from Hexagon | NovAtel ensures high uptime, even in signal-challenged environments
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Autonomous equipment developers are under immense pressure to create systems that are reliable, accurate and safe. The success of self-driving tractors, agricultural harvesting robots, sprayers, spreaders and other autonomous tools depends on how precisely the equipment can navigate and operate in the field. Unfortunately, agricultural environments are speckled with areas where satellite signals can be obstructed by trees, buildings or electrical wiring.
NovAtel, a brand of Hexagon, has developed SPAN, a proprietary technology that maintains position data during satellite signal outages. This allows machines to continue operating during brief periods of signal loss, significantly improving uptime and reducing operational disruptions. The company’s globally available correction services (TerraStar) pair with GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) with a high-quality receiver and signal correction solution — improving accuracy down to a few centimeters anywhere in the world without added infrastructure.
“Our technologies often work behind the scenes, but they are integral to the operations of not only the world's largest agricultural OEMs but startups and scaleups” said James Szabo, Senior Product Manager of Agriculture Autonomy at Hexagon’s Autonomy & Positioning Division.
“In vineyard environments, our high-quality positioning solutions, including IMU fusion with SPAN technology ensure maximum uptime for our customers' machines, Szabo explained. “These technologies are designed for production environments where high customer expectations, low engineering support needs, and reliable total solutions are crucial to unlocking value, potential, and ROI for end users.”
Hexagon provides positioning solutions, global correction services, perception solutions and a variety of machine control solutions for the global agriculture industry, including autosteering for traditional manned operations and for autonomous operation and application control. In the rapidly-evolving fields of agricultural automation and autonomy, the company provides technological solutions and support that help developers bring their products to market faster and scale their businesses efficiently.
“Startups often feel the need to develop solutions from scratch, but we provide subsystems and solutions that require only integration, not full development and support. This approach alleviates the engineering burden on their already pressured teams, getting product to market sooner” said Szabo.
Earlier this year, Hexagon announced it would acquire Septentrio NV, an OEM provider of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) technologies. Norbert Hanke, interim President and CEO of Hexagon AB said, “The combination of Hexagon and Septentrio will transform the positioning industry across existing and new markets, setting new standards for the accuracy, resilience and scalability of positioning technologies, necessary to support and accelerate the journey towards full autonomy."
Hexagon is a member of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) and the Agricultural Industry Electronics Foundation (AEF) working towards the future standards of automation and interoperability.Members of the agriculture team are functionally trained professionals in ISO-25119 and ISO-18497. These memberships and professional qualifications demonstrate a commitment to developing products that not only solve today's problems but are future-proof.
Learn more about Hexagon at World FIRA 2025 4-6 February in Toulouse, France. View the complete agenda and list of exhibitors at world-fira.com.
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