What preparations do I need to do in order to ensure smooth autonomous operations throughout the season?

Good autonomous performance starts before the robot ever enters the field. The most important steps happen during your normal tillage and seeding operations.

Plan your headlands

When preparing the field, make sure the headland area, where the robot turns at the end of each row, is smooth and clear.  The AX-1 is 2 metres long and turns on a single point, so the minimum headland space required is 2 metres. That said, leaving a little extra space is always a good idea, it gives more room to manoeuvre and reduces the risk of issues on uneven or sloped ground. Avoid obstacles and soft or churned soil in the turning area where possible. 

Set up GPS logging on your tractor before bed forming or seeding

The most accurate way to generate guidance paths for the AX-1 is to use GPS data recorded from your tractor or bed forming machine during field preparation, before the robot is even on site. This means your GNSS logging equipment must be properly set up, calibrated, and recording before you begin tillage or seeding.

• For raised bed systems, log GPS data during the bed forming operation.
• For flat fields, log GPS data during sowing or planting.
• A single pass per row gives the best results, double passes can create duplicate lines.

If possible, also record headland tracks and field boundary data during the same pass.

Upload and prepare your routes in Kilter Farm

Once your GPS data is recorded, export it in a supported format (Shapefile, KML, or GeoJSON) and upload it to Kilter Farm to generate routes before the season begins. The more complete and accurate your field data, the less manual adjustment will be needed once the robot starts operating.

For more on how routes are generated and what data is needed, see this 2 article:
- I have a GNSS system on my tractor — can it be used to generate guidance paths for the AX-1?
- How does the AX-1 obtain the guidance paths for autonomous operations?