GPS & AUTOMATION: MACHINE CONTROL SYSTEMS oemoffhighway.com/21427910
Construction Equipment Machine Control Transforms Jobsite Intelligence Technology allows operators to be more productive by understanding the exact orientation of the working tool versus the target grade, and any obstacles, at all times.
As machine control technology continues to evolve, real-time data and automation will transform the jobsite. by Curt Bennink display. It could be your phone.” “Everybody has been focusing on the big equipment — dozers, graders and excavators. But we never really looked at the smaller excavators, the compact tools like the skid steers,” notes Kris Maas, Machine Control Director of Product Management for Leica Geosystems, part of Hexagon. “We are definitely looking to those solutions. The cost was too high compared to the cost of the machine. It is getting less expensive and more accessible to a different fleet of machines.”
Accuracy and processing power improve TOPCON
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he pace of innovation continues at an exponential rate. “In the past couple of years, we have seen tremendous growth in the adoption of machine grade control solutions,” says Sean Mairet, Product Marketing Manager, John Deere Construction & Forestry. “This adoption has led to improvements in grade control solutions such as removing external grade control components like mast towers and coil cables. Additionally, automation features are being integrated to help further enhance grade control solutions.” As the cost of the technology has come down, it has rapidly spread to new machine types. “You are seeing
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nontraditional grade control machines adopting grade control technology,” says Mairet. “Take for instance our new 333G SmartGrade compact track loader and SmartGrade excavators. These types of machines are newer to grade control but now enjoy the tremendous value grade control technology brings to a jobsite.” Trimble offers Earthworks GO!, a product tailored specifically to expand grade control technology to the small machine space. “It’s portable and very cost effective,” says Cameron Clark, Earthmoving Industry Director for the Civil Construction Division, Trimble. “It magnetically mounts to the grading attachment. You can use your own
OEM Off-Highway | SEPTEMBER 2021
Murray Lodge, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Construction, Topcon Positioning Group, believes the most significant improvements have been the processing power of the components and the rapid advancements in Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) technology. And while the performance has increased, the price has seen a significant decline. “It’s really dropped because of commoditization. You are also now able to build IMUs that are more accurate,” he says. These advancements allow machines to operate at faster speeds. “As you start to add load-sensing capability so that
