Raven Autoboom XRT uses radar for boom height control

Radar rather than the more common ultrasonic sensors are used by Raven Industries for the AutoBoom XRT system designed to keep sprayer booms at the optimum height for effective crop treatment with minimum spray drift.

With the system’s radar technology simultaneously detecting the ground and any crop canopy, the US manufacturer claims unique levels of performance.

“Accurate boom height and control is critical in reducing misapplication, drift and operator fatigue,” says Brian Meyer of Raven Applied Technology. “AutoBoom XRT is the only full boom management solution on the market that has consistently proven to achieve maximum product efficacy.”

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Sensors measure height of the boom

The sensors mounted to the underside of the spray boom continuously measure the height of the boom relative to the ground and crop canopy, while the control system activates the boom’s lift/lower cylinders to keep the nozzles at the optimum height. Pressure-based control is said to result in quicker reaction times and smooth movement of the boom sections, while optional dampers and stabilising technology for the boom mounting can also help deliver controlled boom adjustment, says Raven.

Boom height has been shown to have a big influence on the amount of drift lost from the target area but at early growth stages especially, operators using manual control tend to be cautious about setting the boom too low in case of crop or ground strikes.

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Raven Autoboom XRT available as retro-fit kit

Raven’s AutoBoom XRT system is available as a retro-fit kit comprising expansion and boom height control modules, 5 radar sensors, and the option of 2 additional sensors for the mounting frame, plus dampers and stabilising technology. Kits are available currently for Case IH Patriot 3XX0 and 44X0 series self-propelled sprayers; the Case IH Trident 5550 sprayer; and Challenger RoGator C series high capacity sprayers, with others being developed.

The system is compatible with Raven’s high-specification Viper 4+ controller and the simpler CR7 terminal; it is also isobus compliant.

Also read: Topcon cooperates with Raven