Agricultural engineering

Autonomous or semi-autonomous agricultural vehicles must be designed so that they do not endanger other machines or workers. This also includes extremely precise navigation of the vehicles. Analog inertial measurement units (IMUs) from ASC continuously detect the position and motion of objects with high precision.

The analog ASC IMU 8 features outstanding bias stability and angular random walk leading to tactical grade performance. The low noise and excellent long-term stability ensure reliable measurement of position changes in all 6 degrees of freedom.

Remote controlled or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) monitor and analyze fields with inch-perfect precision. The goal is to significantly increase sustainability in farming by using pesticides and fertilizers only where they are needed. The gyroscopes ASC 271 (uniaxial) and ASC 273 (triaxial) are used in dynamic yaw rate and roll rate measurements, as well as position and motion measurements, to ensure optimal stabilization of unmanned aerial vehicles at all times.

Digitization in agriculture requires ever smarter and more compact sensor solutions. Smart sensors from ASC provide the answer to these challenges: They not only use A/D converters and filters to pre-process the measurement data, but can also analyze the pre-processed data using the integrated computer technology. Smart sensors also feature wireless signal transmission. This enables integration of the sensors in networks or clouds, for decentral availability of the results of field condition analysis and direct processing by the agricultural machine.

Operational stability procedures are conducted to test the stability of agricultural vehicles and their components. To determine the behavior of components under real loads and especially under harsh conditions, fatigue tests and shock tests are performed on test benches or during test drives.

These tests also use sensors that measure the effect of loads on the vehicle components. Since the components on the test benches are subjected to high mechanical forces, the sensors must be extremely robust and reliable.

Capacitive accelerometers from ASC are ideal for these applications: For example, the ASC 5521MF triaxial sensor features a wide frequency response range from 0 Hz to 7 kHz and excellent shock resistance up to 6,000 g. For hard-to-access installation positions, on the other hand, the ASC 4111LN, ASC 4211LN and ASC 4221MF are ideal due to their compact and lightweight design (less than 3 grams).

Monitoring of agricultural machinery is a safety-related function, because vehicles are sometimes operated on rough ground with obstacles and slopes. This necessitates constant monitoring of the vehicles on the field. The use of tilt sensors ensures immediate detection if critical angles are exceeded.

The digital tilt sensors ASC TSF-360 are designed for direct integration in the vehicle control system via a CAN/CANopen interface, with accuracy better than 0.1° over temperature and operating range.

The widely varying soil conditions of fields and cropland expose man and machine to extreme loads. MEMS-based capacitive accelerometers with DC response from ASC are used for example in vehicle dynamics applications for agricultural vehicles. These high-precision sensors feature a robust, low-noise and compact design. ASC sensors with protection class IP67 and IP68 operate reliably even under harsh conditions such as cold, heat, humidity and dust.

The models of the ASC OS series feature a hermetically sealed stainless steel housing that can withstand even the harshest ambient conditions. They are available in uniaxial, biaxial and triaxial versions, and in two technology variants: Low Noise (LN) and Medium Frequency (MF).

The uniaxial capacitive accelerometers ASC 4311LN and ASC 4411LN are ideally suited for driving comfort measurements. They feature low frequency and measurement ranges, as well as a high signal-to-noise ratio.
Driving comfort measurements are important in protecting vehicle operators against shocks and vibrations that could exceed limit values.