User Manual, Base Station V2.0
Version 1.3
– Dec 2021
4
1.3
Base Station Purpose and Function
The Base Station is designed to communicate with and provide the FarmDroid FD20 V2.X with a real-time
corrected RTK-GPS signal. The Base Station is a prerequisite for high precision navigation and therefore
necessary for operation i.e. seeding and in-row weeding.
Each Base Station and robot are connected via a virtual tunnel that allows the robot to correct its navigation
according to the known fixed location of the Base Station. Therefore, when a field has been set up in a robot,
using a specific Base Station, this specific Base Station must be used for that specific field for the entire
season from seeding until the end of weeding.
A Base Station is considered accurate within a 10 km radius. Above this, the accuracy is impaired by
interference, hence FarmDroid does not support or recommend use beyond this distance.
If the robot is connected to another Base Station, the virtual reference point moves significantly.
Therefore, it is of utmost importance that each field uses the same specific Base Station dedicated to that
specific field for an entire season. A change between Base Stations will cause a deviation that cannot be
compensated for; thus, the precision and accuracy of the operation will be significantly impaired.
Equally, if the GPS-antenna for the Base Station is moved during the season, intentionally or unintentionally,
the Robot
’s reference point and run pattern is moved equally.
Scenarios
Prerequisite
A farmer has multiple fields within a radius of
10km.
The farmer needs a single Base Station as this
can cover all his fields.
When moving the Robot from one field to
another, the only requirement is to select the
current field in the HMI on the robot prior to
activating the robot.
A farmer has fields spread over a geographical
area of 25km and wants to be able to run the
robot on all his fields.
The farmer needs a minimum of two Base
Stations distributed over the area to cover all the
fields.
When moving from one field to another, the
farmer has to select the current field in the HMI
but also ensure that the robot is connected to
the correct Base Station, which is the Base
Station that was used to set up the specific
field.
If there is an overlap in covered area of the Base
Stations, the farmer must always select the
nearest Base Station before setting up the field.
