Next-Generation Perception: Enhanced Obstacle Detection with Radar and Computer Vision
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Introducing Obstacle Detection Using Radar - Early Release
Visual Awareness Through Onboard Computer Vision (CV) - Early Release
Reduced Pauses From Obstacle Detection on End of Row Turns
Introducing Obstacle Detection Using Radar - Early Release
A hardware update is required to utilize radar obstacle detection.
We’re excited to introduce support for a new perception sensor on your Sabanto Autonomy System: Radar. This sensor enhances the system's ability to detect obstacles, particularly metallic objects, in its path of travel.
Radar is not required to operate the system and will be gradually rolled out to more vehicles over time. Please note that initial supply is limited.
Please use the Submit Issue form to contact support requesting your system receive the updated hardware for radar support.
This release includes only a minimal set of radar-enabled features to allow for early public testing. While functional, the radar system is still under active development and may occasionally fail to detect certain obstacles. We appreciate your patience as we continue to refine and expand its capabilities in future updates.
Visual Awareness Through Onboard Computer Vision (CV) - Early Release
A hardware update is required to utilize computer vision for obstacle detection.
A calibration of the front camera will need to be performed after the update if you have the hardware needed to utilize computer vision. For users without the hardware, the calibration can be skipped. For detail on how to perform the calibration Click Here.
We’re excited to bring Computer Vision capabilities to your Sabanto Autonomy System. The system now uses the onboard cameras to detect obstacles such as people and irrigation pivots in the vehicle’s path.
Computer Vision is not required to operate your vehicle and will gradually roll out to more units as availability increases. Please note that access may be limited during the initial release phase.
Please use the Submit Issue form to contact support requesting your system receive the updated hardware for CV support.
For now, CV functionality is limited to the front camera. We plan to expand support to additional cameras across the vehicle in future updates.
This early release includes a foundational set of features designed to enable real-world testing. While CV is already functional, it remains under active development and may occasionally miss detections. Your feedback and patience are appreciated as we continue enhancing this capability.
CV detection turns off automatically 30 minutes before sunset and remain off until 30 minutes past sunrise currently.
Below are examples of the front CV camera detecting a person and an irrigation pivot.
Reduced Pauses From Obstacle Detection on End of Row Turns
In vOS 1.17.3 we improved our obstacle detection system to reduce unnecessary vehicle pauses caused by objects outside the field boundary during end-of-row turns for specific vehicle SKUs. Please see the vOS 1.17.3 release notes for more details.
This update adds support for John Deere 5xxxM Cab and John Deere 5xxxM ROPS vehicle SKUs.
Resolved Issues
- Systems randomly navigate off path: We have implemented some changes to reduce the frequency of an issue where the system would experience high CPU usage and at the same time begin to swerve back and forth slightly until the system turned off path.
- Geofence Pauses when Performing the Outermost Headland or Field to Field Transits with a pull-type implement: At times, the system used to pause as a precaution while navigating the outermost headland or during transitions through the tunnel connecting fields on field-to-field transits. We have refined this logic further which prevents unnecessary pauses for pull-type implements. In some corner cases the system may pause when undesired, further additions to come in future updates.
Vehicles navigating with a constant path error may see more frequent pauses when navigating the outermost headland. Please contact support for assistance if the vehicle navigates with a constant path error.
Known Issues
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The PTO ‘Engage’ button for the Agrivator is active at the wrong times: When a "Device Reset" is performed with an Agrivator attached, or when the Agrivator is assigned to the vehicle while the 3-PT hitch is raised, the PTO "Engage" button becomes enabled. However, when the implement is lowered, the button becomes grayed out.
Workarounds:
- Assign the Sabanto autonomy system to an aeration mission and click ‘Begin navigation’. The system will then control the implement autonomously as needed.
- Lower the 3-PT hitch and perform a 'Device Reset'.
- Preventative pause when navigating outermost headland and field to field transits with a 3-pt hitch implement:
In certain scenarios, the system may pause preventatively when navigating the outermost headland—particularly near sharp boundary indentations ("fingers"), or while transitioning between fields through narrow connecting paths ("tunnels"). These pauses are triggered as a safety measure to prevent breaching the geofence.
This behavior was first identified in the vOS 1.16.x series. While vOS 1.17.4 & 1.18.0 includes improvements to reduce unnecessary pauses for pull type implements, they may still occur in edge cases with 3-pt hitch implements.
Notification Message Changes
Additions
| New notification message | Short description of why you would see this |
| "Infrared obstacle detection system was powering on." | Navigation was attempted before the IFMs were online or during a power issue that caused the device to brown out due to low voltage. If you see this mid navigation, please contact support. |
| "Infrared obstacle detection system was not receiving the information needed to detect obstacles. Contact support." | The Infrared sensors couldn’t detect obstacles because it wasn’t receiving data, like wheel speed, from the vPFM fast enough. This is often due to an internal issue, so please contact support. |
Modifications
All instances of "Steward™" have been removed. Messages will now display "The Sabanto Autonomy System" instead of "Steward™".