Picking Up Stone Application

Vehicle-Mounted Tablet Solution for Automated Stone Detection and Removal
Enable Precision Stone Mapping, Intelligent Route Planning, and Automated Stone Picking

In many agricultural regions worldwide, excessive stones in farmland cause serious damage to agricultural machinery, increase downtime, and delay critical planting schedules. This challenge is especially severe in Canada, Northern Europe, and parts of the United States, where large-scale dryland farms face extreme stone density.

For example, the Canadian prairie provinces require approximately 45 million acres of stone removal every year, with a very limited operation window—around 25 days during May and June. To address this challenge, leading agricultural technology providers have developed automated stone removal systems, where vehicle-mounted rugged tablets play a central role.

The Challenge: Stones as a Bottleneck to Farm Automation

Traditional stone removal relies heavily on manual labor and repeated field passes. This results in:

• Damage to tractors, tillage tools, and seeders
• Increased maintenance and repair costs
• Missed planting windows
• Low efficiency during short seasonal operation periods

As farms move toward precision agriculture and automation, manual stone handling is no longer sustainable.

The Solution: Vehicle-Mounted Tablet for Picking Up Stone Applications

A vehicle-mounted industrial tablet acts as the core control and visualization platform for automated stone picking systems. By integrating stone sensors, RTK GNSS positioning, digital mapping, and route planning software, the tablet enables fully data-driven stone removal operations.

Key Capabilities:

• Real-time stone detection and positioning
• Digital stone mapping and field visualization
• Intelligent stone removal route optimization
• Automated stone picker guidance and control

How the Picking Up Stone System Works

1. Stone Detection & Precise Positioning

Stone sensors mounted on agricultural vehicles detect stones during field operations. Each stone is recorded with centimeter-level accuracy using RTK GNSS positioning.

2. Stone Mapping on the Vehicle Tablet

All detected stone data is visualized on the tablet in real time, forming a digital stone distribution map. Operators can identify high-density areas and prioritize removal tasks.

3. Intelligent Route Planning

The system automatically calculates the shortest and most efficient stone removal routes, reducing fuel consumption, machine wear, and unnecessary field passes.

4. Automated Stone Removal

Automated stone picking machines follow the optimized routes displayed on the tablet, collecting stones and transporting them to predefined stone collection zones with minimal human intervention.

Why Vehicle-Mounted Tablets Are Critical

Unlike consumer devices, agricultural stone removal requires rugged, industrial-grade computing hardware.

Tablet Requirements for Stone Picking Applications:

• IP67 dust and water protection
• High-brightness display (700–1000 nits) for outdoor use
• RTK GNSS support for precision positioning
• CAN Bus / ISOBUS communication
• RS232 / RS485 / Ethernet / USB interfaces
• Stable Android or Linux operating systems
• Long-term availability and SDK support

The vehicle tablet serves as the digital brain of the entire stone removal system.

Value for Different Stakeholders

Procurement Managers

Challenges

• High failure rates of standard devices
• Short product lifecycle
• Poor after-sales support

Value Delivered

• Reduced downtime
• Lower total cost of ownership (TCO)
• Long-term supply stability

CTOs & System Integrators

Challenges

• Closed hardware platforms
• Limited sensor and GNSS integration
• Software performance issues in harsh environments

Value Delivered

• Open SDK for custom software development
• Seamless integration with sensors and RTK systems
• Scalable architecture for future automation

Farmers & Equipment Operators

Challenges

• Machinery damage caused by hidden stones
• Labor-intensive manual stone removal
• Missed planting deadlines

Value Delivered

• Reduced equipment damage
• Lower labor costs
• Higher operational efficiency and crop yield

Common Problems and Proven Solutions

Applications and Use Scenarios

• Large dryland farms
• Precision agriculture operations
• Automated stone picking machinery
• Smart farming and field digitization projects
• Agricultural equipment OEM solutions

Ready to Build a Smarter Stone Removal System?

A reliable vehicle-mounted tablet is the foundation of any successful automated stone picking solution. Whether you are an OEM, system integrator, or agricultural technology provider, choosing the right in-vehicle computing platform directly impacts system performance, scalability, and long-term success.

Contact us to explore customized vehicle tablet solutions for your Picking Up Stone Application.