Glacier FarmMedia – John Deere has updated its TruSet product with a sensor that increases the accuracy of the automatic tillage depth system.
The improved system, called TruSet Active, will be on all John Deere equipped TruSet tillage tools for model year 2024, including 2230 Field Cultivators, 2330 Mulch Finishers, 2660VT Vertical Tillage tools and 2630 Series Disks.
Ryan Jardon, a marketing manager for John Deere, said the original TruSet system provided variable-rate prescription and documentation capabilities, as well as automatic depth adjustments that used the mainframe wheels to gauge working depth.
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“But if those mainframe wheels build up mud on them or if they sink into the ground in wetter areas or softer soils, the actual working depth is compromised based on the rolling circumference of that wheel, or the fact that it’s sunk into the ground a little bit,” Jardon said.
TruSet Active uses an ultrasonic sensor to constantly measure the frame height and tillage depth, so adjustments won’t be affected by mud build-up on tires or soft soil.
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The sensor is at the front of the implement’s mainframe, ahead of any ground engaging components, so it can measure undisturbed soil.
Jardon said the sensor was designed to work in various residue conditions, so when operators set a desired tillage depth, they will receive an accurate result regardless of crop residue.
“So, if you want to be running at five inches deep, but you have some mud residue built up on your tires, which means your tires got a little bit bigger and the frames is higher than it should be, TruSet Active will see it running shallower than it’s supposed to be and it’ll compensate for that.”
The system can also automatically raise and lower ProFinish leveling system rolling baskets that work behind the implement.
TruSet Active is compatible with other tractor brands with the help of a compatibility kit. Jardon said it is part of an equipment line related to the automation of farm equipment functions.
“When you talk about autonomy, you have to automate not only the driving part, but we have to automate every decision point that an operator would have to make. So, this is an example of us automating a decision point that an operator would have had to make previously.
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“Autonomy for us is bundling together a lot of technology that is on the market already today. TruSet, now TruSet Active, would be one of those technologies that gets bundled together to run autonomously.”
Deere unveiled a fully autonomous 8R tractor earlier this year that integrates cameras, artificial intelligence, sensors and ultra-fast GPU processors to perform tillage operations without an operator in the cab.
“We unveiled our autonomous tillage solution at CES earlier this year, and it’s an 8R pulling a 2430 chisel plow,” Jardon said.
“The chisel is equipped with TruSet, and the tractor would have all of our precision ag technology on it, too. So, it’s taking all the stuff that’s in the market today and adding on the perception system to make it all run autonomously together.”
– This articles was originally published at The Western Producer.
