Relative performance of satellite based navigation systems for improving tractor productivity

The development of novel technologies in modern agriculture is predominantly focused on increasing productivity of field operations and reducing manual labour. The tractor operators are required to ensure precise and efficient movement of tractors, along with attached implements to avoid economic losses, which often results in physiological damage to tractor operators’ health. In this context, employment of satellite-based navigation systems on tractors to perform different farm operations may be a suitable technology to decrease the probability of skipping and overlapping of areas which in turn increases operator efficiency. The current study endeavours to compare the relative performance of two commercially available navigation systems viz., offset value guidance system (N₁) and LED lightbar guidance system (N₂) installed on tractors for tillage operations with respect to tractor operated without navigator-assistance. The experiments were conducted by two operators (O₁ and O₂). The results of comparative analyses clearly reveal lower percentage of skipped or missed areas (O₁: 4%, O₂: 3.33%) during N₁ navigator-assisted operations and (O₁: 3.7%, O₂: 5.5%) during N₂navigator-assisted operations, as compared to without navigator assistance (O₁: 17.33%, O₂: 12.7%). Similarly, overlapped areas also showed marked decrease during N₁ (O₁: 2.33%, O₂: 3.5%) and N₂ (O₁: 3.5%, O₂: 3.83%) operations, with respect to ‘without navigator assistance’ (O₁: 10.17%, O₂: 13.83%) operations. The study further suggests that use of navigators significantly increases the area of soil pulverization due to lesser missing and decreases the fuel wastage by reducing overlapped area. Overall performance can be further improved by increasing the familiarity of operators with navigator instructions.