Investment in autonomous machines generates up to 30% productivity gain in orange cultivation
Remotely operated sprayers manufactured by Jacto with Hexagon technology demonstrate operational gains and even new career prospects in agribusiness
January 7, 2025
Jacto, one of the largest manufacturers of agricultural sprayers in the country, is boosting productivity in Brazilian orchards with investment in autonomy. The company’s sprayers, from the JAV line, feature positioning technology from Hexagon’s Autonomy & Positioning division and have already provided a 30% increase in productivity in spraying operations in orange production.
The sprayers have an advanced degree of autonomy, meaning they do not require an operator for each machine. “They are controlled remotely through tablet. The operator plans the operation, marks out the area where they will work, and only supervises the functioning,” says Sérgio Sartori Júnior, Director of Research and Development at Jacto.
The implementation of technology and the results achieved are an important milestone for the Brazilian agricultural scenario, as the development of autonomous machines is still in its early stages due to its complexity and safety issues associated with the process. “Autonomous equipment needs to be able to move with the highest possible level of precision so that they can be controlled remotely and perform their functions safely. Therefore, positioning technology is so relevant for the development of autonomy in the field,” says Bernardo de Castro, VP of agriculture strategy at Hexagon’s Autonomy & Positioning division.
Bernardo also points out that the increase in orchard productivity in Brazil has the potential to further boost production and the country’s importance as an exporter of the product worldwide. Brazil annually cultivates more than 16 million tonnes of oranges in an estimated area of 500 thousand hectares of orchards, according to the 2023 report by the United States Department of Agriculture on the world market and trade.
According to Sérgio from Jacto, working with autonomy is a strategic decision for the rural producer who seeks to address the labour shortage and increase efficiency. “The machine works continuously. From there, it is just a matter of adjusting work shifts for the remote operators who stay in the field to deal with eventualities but have a healthier and more complex job.”
Labour shortage and professional opportunity
The increasing introduction of technology to the field aims, in addition to increasing productivity, to address an intrinsic labour shortage for rural production. Between the IBGE agricultural censuses of 1996 and 2017 there was a decrease of 1.4 million people employed in Brazilian agriculture, thus consolidating a permanent reduction in the demand for agricultural labour since 1985, when 23.4 million people were employed in agricultural establishments.
Sérgio comments that the new generations are more interested in prioritising academic training and seeking new career opportunities. Therefore, he identifies the introduction of advanced technologies in agribusiness as a positive point to attract the attention of young people to the sector.
“Occupying a position as a supervisor of autonomous machines is a less arduous and more complex career, as well as better paid. By combining technology, we are transforming the farm into a commercial business with a demand for professional management that can be interesting for the new generations,” points out Sérgio.
Partnership in the development of autonomy
The partnership between the two companies began eight years ago when Jacto sought to increase its portfolio of positioning technologies with the precision quality of international manufacturers. “Usability was a very important factor for our selection criteria, in addition to the possibility of customising the product, which leaves the factory with our brand,” says Sérgio. “Today, all our machines come equipped with Hexagon | NovAtel’s positioning solution, whether the SMART7 antenna on Uniport and JAV machines or the SMART2 antenna on others. Since the beginning of the partnership, Hexagon has supported us in the challenges of developing new products.”
Recently, given the need to further increase the precision of autonomous equipment in the field, as well as identify their direction at reduced speeds – or even when they are stationary – Jacto has observed good results with Hexagon’s proposed solution of combining two antennas, which provide GNSS signal redundancy to increase positioning accuracy in the field. These are the SMART7 antennas, which function as a primary receiver of multi-constellation and multi-frequency GNSS signals, and the SMART2, Hexagon’s entry-level solution that offers benefits such as dual-frequency tracking and terrain compensation. “We were using a composite solution that utilised data from an inertial unit combined with GNSS receiver data to perform this function, but the machine’s performance with the two antennas has proven superior,” comments Sérgio.
Corrections
GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) reception technology is essential to provide the correct guidance for agricultural equipment, but it works best when not acting alone. When combined with a signal correction solution, it minimises positioning errors during field processes and ensures the precision and consistency of operations.
With this in mind, Jacto also offers TerraStar to the producer. The signal correction technology also provided by Hexagon, combined with the GNSS signal, reduces the margin of error from up to 50 centimetres to 2 centimetres. “We offer the service as an option because not all customers understand this need initially. But, in general, once they try it, they do not go back because they clearly perceive the benefits,” Sérgio concludes.