Hexagon’s precise positioning, perception and machine control solutions help OEMs accelerate product delivery

In the agriculture industry, precision is everything. One wrong move is all it takes for a rogue weeding robot to accidentally destroy viable crops and negatively impact the bottom line. Farmers who were wary of investing in advanced technologies quickly lose faith.

Startups and manufacturers continue to take these concerns to heart, upping the ante of what their innovations can do. The latest generation of autonomous machines go beyond merely getting the job done however they can. Instead, they complete their tasks without getting lost, damaging crops, risking worker safety or requiring round-the-clock supervision.

Hexagon has witnessed this transformation firsthand. A long-time global leader of autonomous and positioning technologies, Hexagon is the collaborator startups and OEMs approach when they need to take their precision farming tools to the next level. The technology company’s expertise has made them a valuable partner to all sorts of innovators within the agtech space.

“We appreciate that there is a huge diversity disparity in the skill sets of our target customers,” says James Szabo, senior agriculture autonomy product manager at Hexagon’s Autonomy & Positioning division. “There are a lot of startups and small companies who have their mindset and their vision on solving a specific problem, such as removing weeds from lettuce in California. They'll design something that solves that problem very, very well, and then they'll try and take it to market.”

Szabo says this is where Hexagon really shines as an industry partner. “Suddenly, they realise they need to make sure the positioning system works all over the world,” he continues. “Well, Hexagon can solve that problem, and that's where we fit in. Next, they'll say, ‘my obstacle detection system is struggling to scale, and this is taking time and resources which we can be using to expand our business.’ Well again, they can come to Hexagon for that problem. They can buy that package and integrate it because all the documentation and API information is there. They don't need to worry about extra resources or engineering time or investment. They just take it off the shelf and problem solved.”

Hexagon has built its reputation on delivering complete positioning solutions to the agtech industry, and the company continues to advance the products in its lineup. Within the agriculture industry, Hexagon’s first point of focus was on positioning or “where am I?”

“In terms of the positioning, we've evolved to the point of meeting some functional safety standards that are needed for autonomous agriculture,” Szabo says. “We've got several partners and technology customers that are using it, and we're increasing that customer base. On that side, we're going to be talking about the reliability, robustness and redundancy of the system. We’re making sure that no matter where you are in the world, it just works, and if something isn't working correctly, we can detect it and do something about it rather than the autonomous machine blindly just going on assuming everything is okay.”

After establishing where the autonomous robot was positioned, the next frontier became perception or “what’s around me?”. This need drove Hexagon to leverage its resources and expertise to begin developing state-of-the-art collision avoidance systems with 360-degree operator awareness.

But Hexagon wasn’t satisfied with simply helping agriculture robots analyse where they are and what’s around them. The company wanted to help simplify the complex requirements of completely autonomous systems for their customers. With its positioning- and perception-oriented solutions already in place, Hexagon moved onto its latest focus: Actuation, also known as machine control or “what do I need to do?”

“Hexagon historically has had and still has a number of in-field manned and autonomous solutions,” Szabo says. “Over the past 18 months, we’ve been converting these precision farming tools from having a user in the loop to either being an autonomous platform or part of an autonomous platform within our ecosystem.”

FIRA USA attendees will be able to experience these solutions for the first time. At the event, Hexagon customers will perform live demonstrations using the positioning, perception and actuation solutions all on one machine. Szabo believes these offerings will be especially attractive to startups and OEMs dedicated to getting their respective innovations to market as quickly as possible.

“In general, there has been a downturn in agriculture over the last six months to a year,” Szabo says, citing the commodity price fluctuations that happen like clockwork every seven or eight years. “It's no surprise to anybody, but what it has meant is that companies are looking at ways to design the next big thing.”

“We’re seeing a lot of companies come back to us that have been quiet for a couple of years because they’ve had good years of sales,” Szabo continues. “Now, they’re being challenged and have to adapt with the market. They’re asking us questions and seeing how quickly they can bring their products to market. Their purse strings are getting tight, and they have less time to deliver profitable products to market. Again, it’s that driver that we can’t do everything ourselves. Let’s partner with someone who is an expert in this and get our products out there as soon as possible.”

Hexagon’s work with autonomy experts has paid off. As the company continues to expand its offerings, its customers benefit from a wealth of knowledge about which positioning, perception, and machine control solutions work most effectively for the agriculture market.

“For a small OEM that’s in a race with a larger OEM, having the ability just to take the product and make it work without significant investment is very attractive,” Szabo says. “This is the first year that we're really talking about a solution that people can go and buy and use to decrease their engineering time and resources and accelerate their solutions into the market space.”

To learn more about Hexagon and what the company’s precision solutions can do for you, visit https://hexagon.com/products/product-groups/off-road-autonomy/.