Page 19 - EE Times Europe Magazine – June 2024

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How Versatile Technologies Can Boost AV Adoption

Figure 3: BlueWhite Compass’s API

functionality. This transformation enables precise and efficient farming culture—from labor shortages to operational safety—while being
operations, such as sowing, spraying and harvesting. compatible with any tractor brand or model. However, its solution can
Complementing the Pathfinder, the BlueWhite Compass software be employed only on small or family farms. For large-scale agricul-
platform (Figure 3) serves as the operational brain of the system. tural activities, it is far from being a replaceable solution. BlueWhite
Farmers can use its suite of tools from a remote location to effortlessly can retrofit autonomous driving only into simple vehicles and
manage, monitor and control autonomous tractors and farming equip- equipment that do not operate day and night. This means that Blue-
ment, according to the company. White can’t automate the operation of the huge farming equipment
typically used on large farms.
MULTI-LAYERED SAFETY MECHANISMS
Retrofitting autonomous driving systems has faced more stigma over VERSATILITY TO DRIVE AV ADOPTION
safety than building an AV from scratch. This is particularly true for Although its technology can be extended to other applications,
BlueWhite, as the company promises a fully automated network of BlueWhite plans to address the challenges of evolving machine archi-
farm equipment. tecture to facilitate the adoption of autonomous operation, creating
“At BlueWhite, we implement redundancies and a multiple-safety- open APIs so that different tractors can work autonomously with
layer approach directly into our system architecture,” Alon Ascher, different implements and ensuring full farm connectivity so that oper-
CBO of BlueWhite, told EE Times Europe. “For instance, to enhance ational reports and relevant data can be shared.
the perception of our autonomous tractor, we employ sensor fusion. “In our roadmap, BlueWhite plans to expand from permeant crops
This approach combines data from multiple sensors, such as LiDAR, to other specialty crops, such as vegetables; livestock-feeding appli-
cameras, GNSS [global navigation satellite system] and INS [inertial cations; and wherever advanced autonomy can provide a significant
navigation system], to comprehensively understand and visualize the impact to farmers,” Ascher said.
surrounding environment. Concerns about the reliability of AVs, especially L4 AVs, have
“We also deploy advanced algorithms and policies to control vehicle prompted technology players in the AV industry to subject their
behavior, ensuring safe driving even in GPS- and communication-denied solutions to rigorous testing. More versatile technologies can
environments,” Ascher said. “Additionally, we incorporate hard- enable more data to be collected, perhaps speeding adoption of
ware-layer redundancy and a physical bumper in front of the machinery, Level 4 AVs. ■
along with ‘Safety Stop’ buttons on the machine for field operators.”
BlueWhite said it seeks to solve the problems of modern agri- Saumitra Jagdale is a contributing writer for EE Times Europe.

www.eetimes.eu | JUNE 2024