Could Someone Give Me Advice on How to Set Up AgOpenGPS for Vineyard Management?

Operations/Getting Started
1

Hello everyone :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

I am so happy to be here and join this knowledgeable and active community. I am now working on a project that makes use of technology from precision agriculture to optimise vineyard management. After looking at a number of options, I chose Agopen GPS because of its adaptability; open source nature; and the helpful community that surrounds it.

Our vineyard is approximately fifty acres in size; with a variety of grape varietals and sandy soil. The objective is to increase precision and efficiency when performing chores like harvesting; trimming; and sprinkling. To be able to do this; I want to use Agopen GPS to build a GPS guided system that will also include extra sensors and automation functions.

Current Setup I have located a GPS receiver with RTK capacity; a rugged tablet; and an auto steering system. I am thinking of adding more sensors; such as ultrasonic sensors for accurate row spacing measurements and LIDAR for obstacle detection. Agopen GPS is installed; and I have been experimenting with its features. The great training and documentation made the initial setup go very smoothly.

  • I am concerned with maintaining GPS guidance correct given the vineyard uneven topography. Exist any Agopen GPS options or settings that particularly aid optimise performance on rough and mountainous landscape?
  • For the purpose of improving row spacing precision and obstacle identification; I would like to integrate Agopen GPS with LIDAR and ultrasonic sensors. Has anyone in the area carried out these kinds of sensors successfully? I would be grateful for any guidance on the software and hardware integration process.
  • The criteria for vineyard management are different from those for other farming practices. Exist any AgOpenGPS plugins and specialised capabilities designed with vineyard operations in mind? how would one go about creating and implementing these kinds of unique features?
  • Anyone who has used Agopen GPS in a vineyard and other comparable contexts is welcome to share their experiences with me. What challenges did you encounter, and how did you get over them? I would be grateful for any advice or best practices you could provide.

Also I explored some topics related to this https://discourse.agopengps.com/t/simple-relay-section-with-genai-bluetooth-esp32/1137/5 but I did not get the sufficient solution of my query so I would really want to get some help from a more experienced person

As my idea develops; I am eager to give back to the community. I am looking forward to working with other members; whether it be by exchanging experiences; creating unique features; and providing input on the program.

I appreciate everyone’s time and for building such a vibrant supportive community. Agopen GPS has the ability to completely transform vineyard management; and I am eager to get started with your help and advice.

Thanks in advance for your help :smiling_face_with_three_hearts: :white_heart:

1 Like
2

As long as you have an IMU and it is set up correctly for it to know which axis to use as the roll axis and the antenna offsets and positions entered corectly into aog, the app will automatically calculate the position in order for the vehicle to go in a straight line no matter the elevation or roll. I recomend you mount the PCB in a fixed position, glued or screwed or however, and one of the x or y axis of the imu as parallel to the direction of driving as possible. This will ensure correct roll measurements.
Also it is possible to leave a gap in the ab lines exactly the width of your vineyard rows so that the vehicle doesn’t crash into them when it automatically turns.
As for the lidar and sensors, i’m not sure how you can implement those into the arduino code, if your vine rows are straight and evenly spaced, the rtk should be enough. Even if they are not perfectly straight but are evenly spaced and following the same pattern you can use a curve ab line.

3

Lidar or ultrasonic sensors would require significant code modification, due to the fact that AOG can’t handle a nudge event from an outside source.

AOG doesn’t have plugin capability, that I know of.

4

The only way that I know is to add a nudge in the ino. When it gets a value from the steer pgn it would push the value right or left depending upon your Sensor reading. Long shot but much easier programming here than in the main code.

1 Like