Trimble Inc. and PTx Trimble announced the availability of Trimble IonoGuard for the precision agriculture industry. IonoGuard is designed to improve RTK GNSS signal tracking and hardware positioning performance, ensuring more reliable and accurate positioning during challenging ionospheric conditions.
Every 11 years, solar activity peaks, leading to ionospheric disturbances such as scintillation and signal noise that can disrupt positioning. Solar Cycle 25, which began in 2024 and is expected to last through 2026, is anticipated to pose significant challenges, with high-precision RTK GNSS users in equatorial regions particularly affected year-round, leading to costly interruptions in agricultural operations.
Michael Munro, general manager of sales and marketing of Vantage Australia, said, “There was no question when asked if we wanted to test IonoGuard. Knowing we can better weather the next major solar storm with less risk for signal loss and improved signal availability and precision during such a disturbance provides peace of mind knowing we can still get the work done.”
Andrew Sunderman, vice president of product and customer experience at PTx Trimble, said, “The solar storm experienced in May 2024 put IonoGuard to the test and, based on feedback from our beta testers like Vantage Australia, demonstrated the value of this technology to enable uninterrupted work in the midst of significant solar activity. When a solar storm hits, work might be stopped due to signal loss, resulting in downtime, increased labor costs and potentially wasted inputs during planting and spraying. We’re extremely proud to offer a solution that truly minimizes this risk by decreasing downtime, reducing costs for the farmer and keeping the agriculture industry up and running all day, every day.”
PTx Trimble, a joint venture between AGCO and Trimble, provides precision agriculture solutions for land preparation, planting, water management, crop protection, nutrient management and harvesting.
