Super cheap RTK GPS

[FarmTheory]

Hi, I have developed my own RTK GPS based on a linux platform.
The video below give you an overview of the components used.

I am a dairy farmer who learned how to computer code and build electronics, i think this had made my software quite unique. I have been using this for 4 years now, and am at a point where the product is reliable. I plan to produce some additional units for testing over the next few months.

I am currently adding autosteer (~£200).

I will be updating the youtube page and also my facebook page (FarmTheory) with updates.

 

[goodevans]

You must enjoy dairy farming because you are a very smart young man and your talents are wasted

 

[FarmTheory]

You must enjoy dairy farming because you are a very smart young man and your talents are wasted

Thanks, i get that a lot. I would say that i wouldn't have the same skills if i hadn't been developing tech for the farm. Also, its much harder to monetize farm tech than people might realize. The dairy farm has a profit level which would be extremely difficult to achieve from a farm tech company.

 

[Northern farmer]

Thanks, i get that a lot. I would say that i wouldn't have the same skills if i hadn't been developing tech for the farm. Also, its much harder to monetize farm tech than people might realize. The dairy farm has a profit level which would be extremely difficult to achieve from a farm tech company.

Probably right but your skills would not be limited to making money from farm tech only. Good for us that you have not realised that.

 

[Briantee]

I used to think it was all simple as well, till it had to work for many different people and skill levels. Good job, we live in an era of incredibly powerful hardware and software tools that can easily be applied to many applications. To save you an awful lot of work, there already is a huge amount of work done on this and tested. An autosteer board has been developed with PCB gerbers. You can easily adapt it to your python based system as it only requires heading error, distance from line, speed to the serial in of an arduino.

https://github.com/farmerbriantee

Welcome to the world of Ag GPS. We so need more programmers especially in Pi and Linux.

 

[FarmTheory]

Your program is pretty amazing and is on a completely different level, you can see the layers of complexity you have had to add to make it suitable for so many use cases. I already have a PCB made and all the components for autosteer ready to be mounted, so i will see how it works out. Interesting that your doing the calculations for the steering correction on the microchip side, never thought of that, i was going to send only the steering correction over serial.

 

[Flat 10]

Very impressive @Awright754 . When you have built your RTK autosteer for £500 i will buy it for £1000.....

 

[Briantee]

Keep on your path, having more ideas on how to do algorithms is a good thing.
We've gone thru P, PI, PID, and found them very limited to re-acquire a path. Then there was fuzzy logic + PID, but that was pretty overly complex. Then the next phase was non linear algorithms such as Pure Pursuit which defines a radius to track back on to the path from anywhere (much like a human). Finally most have settled upon using Stanley Method as best that uses arctangent of crosstrack error over speed nonlinear plus heading error of the steer axle point. Stanley method was developed at Stanford university for the DARPA challenges and works incredibly well. Hopefully that can save you a couple years of experimenting.

 

[colhonk]

Can someone translate the above into plain english for a simpleton to understand?
sounds like we can use a simple non expensive gps

 

[clbarclay]

Can someone translate the above into plain english for a simpleton to understand?
sounds like we can use a simple non expensive gps

Even a simpleton is capable of complex thought process, to steer a tractor in roughly the right direction and place. Explain how the simpleton's thought processes might do that makes it sound a lot more complicated.

 

[FarmTheory]

@Briantee Yeah, i am using the Stanley Method, i love a complex problem to solve. I seen the Stanley method in one of your videos. I will keep you all updated.

 

[Briantee]

Can someone translate the above into plain english for a simpleton to understand?
sounds like we can use a simple non expensive gps

Well I can try We do have simle non expensive gps, the hardware is very inexpensive, and the software is free.

Ok, steering a vehicle onto a path isn't simply just head to the line and when you get there you go straight. That would be a lot simpler if it was. When you are getting close to the line your steering wheels need to start steering away from the line so your heading once you get to the line matches the heading of the line. That is the non linear part. Otherwise you will cross the line and then you need to turn back and so you will wiggle back and forth across the line never really getting on the line.

Think of when you steer a car down the highway. You don't stare out the side window looking at the white line - PID type of control, you look a ways down the road and you aim for that point (Pure Pursuit and Stanley). The farther you look down the road, the longer it takes to get to the line, the closer (like just ahead of the hood) you will get there quickly but criss cross the point where you want to be. Pure pursuit originated by the military finding the best path a fighter jet could follow another jet ahead of it.

All the different algorithms (steering methods) have strong and weak points to get to that line quickly and follow it accurately, the trick is figuring out which one works best for the application. Hope this helps.

A very informative video that will also help.

 

[JohnBrown]

Very nice device. You are so talanted!
I am using Bluetooth tracking device. Its range is 150 Foot and the battery is replaceable. The design of the device focuses on loss prevention, so you never lose your items in the first place.

 

[davidroberts30]

very impressive

 

[Badshot]

Hi, I have developed my own RTK GPS based on a linux platform.
The video below give you an overview of the components used.

I am a dairy farmer who learned how to computer code and build electronics, i think this had made my software quite unique. I have been using this for 4 years now, and am at a point where the product is reliable. I plan to produce some additional units for testing over the next few months.

I am currently adding autosteer (~£200).

I will be updating the youtube page and also my facebook page (FarmTheory) with updates.

I'm most interested in the rtk base station for little money.

 

[FarmTheory]

I'm most interested in the rtk base station for little money.

I will do a video on it and go into detail. Its very simple.

 

[JohnBrown]

and perhaps I'll buy myself a couple

Very nice device. You are so talanted!
I am using https://www.eyerideonline.com/ tracking device. Its range is 150 Foot and the battery is replaceable. The design of the device focuses on loss prevention, so you never lose your items in the first place.