Claas launches transferable auto-steering system We are still waiting for a press release regarding Claas new equipment with outback guidance onboard, as per the agreement sruck in 2011 where AJX is supplying electronic control units right under the chasse of Claas equipment coming off the assembly line. This equipment will run AJX products on all suitable Claas machines and be customizable to suit whatever needs the customer has (e.g. add an antenna, control etc).
It was expected these products would be released by Claas in 4Q12 but thus far we haven't seen them. Claas is running the product release schedule since AJX is just supplying once piece of the full tractor/combine units. Once these products come to market, AJX will see a major sales ramp equivalent to ~$15mm incremental revenue per year just with Claas sales alone (once fully up to speed, so probably will take 12mths to get to that run-rate post launch).
In the meantime, below is the only precision ag. press release I've seen this year from Claas. Not overly significant:
Claas launches transferable auto-steering system suitable for tractors and combines
Derek Casey– 26 March 2013
Claas has introduced an automatic steering system called GPS Pilot Flex which can be easily transferred between different machines.
Until now, in addition to the GPS Co-Pilot, which indicates a path to which the operator manually steers, the only automatic 'hands-free' steering system Claas has offered has been GPS Pilot.
Unlike GPS Pilot, which is a fully integrated system, GPS Pilot Flex is attached to the steering column and does not rely on valves within the steering system, making it easy to swap between machines such as tractors, combine harvesters or forage harvesters.
fitted
Installation is made simple as the control system is located inside a control box and steering wheel that can be fitted in place of a machine's normal steering wheel.
Having removed the normal steering wheel and replaced it with the GPS Pilot Flex system, steering commands are sent directly to the steering wheel's electric motor and steering linkage.
GPS Pilot Flex is designed for use with the Claas GPS Pilot S3 automatic steering terminal.
Where this is already fitted to a machine, all that is required is to change over the steering wheel.
On machines not already fitted with GPS Pilot S3, the navigation processor, S3 terminal and GPS antenna can also be easily moved over.
suitable
The GPS Pilot Flex is suitable for use with all the correction signals used by Claas from EGNOS through to an RTK signal received from a Baseline tripod or a mast-mounted transmitter.
It is also fully compatible with all GPS Pilot S3 functions such as job or reference line management and the new Auto Turn system.