Agriculture and more in the spotlight in Prague

17 February 2012

Delegates at the GSA Applications Congress in Prague were treated to a range of presentations on the latest real-world uses for GNSS-based technologies, not least in the area of precision agriculture.

Michel Bosco, Deputy Head of Satellite Navigation at the European Commission's DG Enterprise and Industry, opened day two of the GSA Applications Congress by pointing up the importance of the 'real' community getting involved in the development of new apps, in particular apps that make full use of the advantages of EGNOS, Europe's satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS).

"EGNOS is like a new natural resource," he said. "We don't really know what its full potential is. We are seeing it being used in more and more ways, but have not yet realised the full extent of its possibilities. This is something for all of you, in all sectors, to look at. What can EGNOS do and how can it best serve your needs?"

To this end, Bosco explained, the new EGNOS Toolkit, now available for free on the EGNOS Portal website, is aimed at helping developers tailor new EGNOS-based applications for a variety of smartphone platforms.

High precision on the ground

Heading the Congress session on 'High Precision and Agriculture', President of the Council of European Geodetic Surveyors Jean Yves Pirlot said, "Surveying is the world's second oldest profession, the first, of course, being farming!" It was a jocular introduction, but the underlying message was no less valid: farming and surveying are closely linked today, as they have been throughout history.

Tamme van der Wal of AeroVision B.V. expanded on the subject. "Farmers were the first ever user group of European GNSS. They were using EGNOS before anyone even knew the signal was operative. And this is simply because the ability to map fields and to identify their characteristics is so fundamentally important in the activities of farmers."

Van der Wal is coordinator of the EU-funded 'UniFarm' project, aimed at creating an active user forum that will bring together all parties, from farmers to regulatory authorities to GNSS service providers, with an interest in maximising the power of GNSS for the agriculture industry.

"GNSS services are working now for farmers," said van der Wal, "and we can do much more. But we need to agree first. We need to get together and discuss and understand each other and come up with the questions and the answers that we can take to the GNSS developers and service providers."

Klaus Herbert Rolf of CLAAS Agrosystems, a software, systems and machinery company for precision farming operations, says EGNOS no longer represents a technological opportunity, but rather a necessary infrastructure for successful agriculture. About 90% of high-end combine harvesters currently sold by CLAAS are equipped with EGNOS-enabled receivers, and Rolf says European farmers can save up to 7% on operating costs with EGNOS, thanks to time reduction and reduction of fuel, oil and machine expenses.

"Farmers are not interested in satellites," he said. "They are interested in the signals and services that satellites provide, which they can use to improve how they work on the ground."

Rolf says making EGNOS work for farmers is the aim of another EU-funded project called 'GeoPal', developing a GNSS-based planning system to support in-field and inter-field agricultural logistics activities. The system will use satellite navigation technologies to make sure tractors and harvesters, trucks, other transport vehicles and even people, all work together in a coordinated and efficient way.

Geopal is addressing a number of diverse elements, including resource efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions, sustainable production, automation of production and economic competitiveness, all aimed at streamlining both harvesting and distribution functions of the bio-production supply chains.

Many sectors implicated

For Joel van Cranenbroeck, the more satellites the better. His company, Leica Geosystems, is a leading manufacturer and distributor of systems that capture, visualise and process 3D spatial data using advanced technologies, including GNSS.

"It's all about redundancy," he said. "The more data sources we have, the more we can cross-check and the faster we can deliver precise and reliable data to our customers. These include surveyors, civil engineers, mining operations, farmers and many, many more, all over the world."

Rounding out the discussion, Bert Lambooij of Wageningen Universty called for more work on how GNSS can be used to improve the welfare of animals in transport, and Pavel Milata outlined the state of play in terms of the deployment of GNSS technologies in the Czech agriculture sector.

High profile for GNSS applications

For Pirlot, reaping the benefits of European GNSS in precision mapping and agriculture should be a key objective, but he also noted the importance of staying on the political radar screen.

The recent discussions on an expanding role for the European GNSS Agency (GSA) and the announcement that it will be moved to Prague has given European GNSS a boost in this regard. The GSA Applications Congress brought high-level political representatives from Prague, Brussels and around Europe to exchange views on strategic, institutional, financing and governance issues.

But it also gave developers and real users a platform to talk about concrete applications on the ground – ground we depend upon in the most fundamental of ways, for the food we eat.

More information:

• CLAAS Agrosystems
• 'Experts consider impact of Europe’s GNSS programmes'
• EU and partners express strong support for Europe in space