MACHINE CONTROL SYSTEMS
Transforming the way we dig, pave, spray, drill and build
Built on decades of innovation, Trimble machine control systems help to improve accuracy, productivity, safety and quality on the jobsite.
What is Machine Control?
Machine control systems combine positioning sensors with computer displays to give operators better insight into and control over their work.
Enable operators to accurately position buckets, blades and other implements while eliminating the need for surveying, staking, and constantly checking work in progress.
Utilize labor and equipment efficiently to reduce costs and minimize wear-and-tear.
Improve connectivity between teams and disciplines by sharing model data and information on work performed.
From a laser-focused vision…
Early machine control systems leveraged advancements in laser technology to improve water management in farming.
…To a new generation of automation
Machine control systems are growing increasingly autonomous, and the next generations will likely include innovations like artificial intelligence, machine learning and 5G.
Machine control applications
Machine control is widely used across industries for a rapidly growing number of applications.
Trimble’s role in the evolution of machine control
The machine control we know today is the result of numerous technological advances, particularly in positioning.
Trimble, along with innovators in agriculture, geospatial, heavy equipment and academia, played an important role in driving those innovations forward.
MACHINE CONTROL MILESTONES
1960s
- Agricultural engineers James Fouss and Norman Fausey of The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) at The Ohio State University build the first laser grade control system for an agricultural drainage machine.
- Around the same time, Founder and inventor Robert H. Studebaker begins creating a laser controlled motor grader. It uses a rotating prism to create a ‘plane’ of laser light that controls several machines on a field for flat and sloping planes.
- Studebaker and Ted L. Teach form Laserplane Corp, the first laser company.
- ARS researchers, along with Laserplane, demonstrate laser control for the first time on a trenching machine at the Ohio State Farm Science Review.
MACHINE CONTROL MILESTONES
1970s–1980s
- With the introduction of sonic sensors, machine control expands to machines such as motor graders and pavers for both elevation and steering.
- The combination of rotating lasers and sonic tracers helps birth the first generation of 1D/2D machine control, which are used for controlling elevation and steering.
- Out of that first generation emerges the dual automatic blade control solution, called the BladePro System.
MACHINE CONTROL MILESTONES
1990s
- The invention of the robotic total station and advances in GPS technology set the foundation for 3D machine control.
- Trimble introduces the first RTK GPS receiver, which will play an important role in later iterations of machine control technology.
- Trimble introduces BenchGuide, a GPS-based leveling system for mining applications.
- Caterpillar, with Trimble as its GPS partner, launches the Computer Aided Earthmoving System (CAES) for bulldozers and excavators.
- Steve Berglund, as president of Spectra Precision, starts exploring ways to incorporate recent advances in robotic total stations and GPS technology to develop 3D machine control.
- The BladePro 3D is introduced. It eliminates the need for stringlines by combining a robotic total station with digital terrain model (DTM) design software to automatically control the elevation and cross slope of a motor grader blade.
- The first commercial deployment of a GPS machine control system is launched on a John Deere 750 dozer.
- Trimble debuts its first stakeless GPS grade control system at ConExpo.
MACHINE CONTROL MILESTONES
2000s
- Trimble acquires Spectra Precision, expanding its machine control portfolio to include automated blade control with robotic total stations.
- Caterpillar Trimble Control Technologies (CTCT) forms with the goal to develop machine control and guidance products for both the mining and construction industries. The products are intended to work for factory or aftermarket installation on any make or model of equipment, regardless of manufacturer.
- Trimble introduces Trimble Earthworks Grade Control Platform, redefining ease of use, accuracy and productivity in machine control.
MACHINE CONTROL MILESTONES
2020s
- Trimble partners with Dynapac to develop commercial-ready soil rollers that include automated steering and speed functions.
- Trimble introduces the industry’s first automatic steering control solution for dozers and soil compactors, Horizontal Steering Control.
- Trimble introduces the first augmented reality system for excavators.
