Precision agriculture is the discretization of farming — defined as the analysis of highly variable (and often unpredictable) landscapes to:
• Break larger agricultural fields into smaller discrete sections
• Quantify the characteristics (such as soil composition, light, and seed spacing) of each section
• Adapt to the variations between sections with automated farm equipment to maximize crop yield.
In fact, discretized farming generates lots of data during its mapping and analysis of variations as well as its generation of information about how equipment should compensate for field variations. So only automated (not manual) equipment is practical to execute the highly repetitive, menial, and dangerous tasks required to give individualized attention to each portion of land or crop.
Fully adaptive farming relies on automated equipment. Image courtesy Bishop-Wisecarver
Keeping automated farming machines running is critical — and it starts with reliable components, actuators, and technologies in the design.
Such automated farm equipment often incorporates linear actuators and guided motion components to perform cutting-tool manipulation and crop conveyance, among other tasks. The main caveat is that unreliable components not rugged enough for outdoor farming settings undermine the goals of automation and can even introduce additional complications … including additional maintenance work for farmers. DualVee Motion Technology from Bishop-Wisecarver is designed for durability first — to reliably perform in these harsh outdoor agricultural environments.
Some tractors uses linear components from Bishop-Wisecarver — specifically designed to maintain a high level of reliability — in their GPS-guided steering systems.
Linear components from Bishop-Wisecarver are also found in indoor farming operations.
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