Launched mid-last year, GeoSelect uses high resolution, geo-referenced imagery captured by a drone to allow a sprayer to accurately target weeds in a paddock.

This week Hardi was working with Position Partners and FrontierSI on a Hardi Rubicon sprayer in Victoria to perform some in-paddock testing of GeoSelect.

The project is part of a Commonwealth 5G funding initiative that has developed a prototype system which uses 5G for precise positioning to control spraying to within centimetres of the target.

Testing involved randomly marking out a group of faux weeds, mapping the paddock, then running the sprayer over the paddock to make sure applications were on target.

Both dye testing and water sensitive paper were used to monitor the sprayer's accuracy.
GeoSelect uses a ‘de-coupled' sensor, or drone, to provide centimetre-accurate, geo-referenced imagery of the area to be sprayed, also using the prototype 5G-assisted positioning system.

The sprayer can use the data directly from the drone thanks to the high bandwidth of 5G, whilst maintaining the high resolution.

The precision spraying technique, developed inhouse by Hardi in Adelaide, allows the sprayer to be triggered by the 5G positioning system to accurately target the smallest of weeds, taking into consideration real-time metrics such boom deflection and ambient environmental conditions.

Meta-data is recorded as both a proof of placement and facilitating the planning of future spray maps with year-on-year metrics.

The system works in conjunction with HARDI's H-Select nozzle setup to co-ordinate four different nozzles at each nozzle body - one nozzle to selectively spray and three others to rapidly switch between nozzle combinations to maintain the required dose of chemical.
Nozzle positions are measured using four GNSS antennas mounted along the boom width.

Testing of GeoSelect will be ongoing.