Tractor cab goes virtual

CLAAS is presenting an interactive user experience at SIMA 2017. The CLAAS Tractor Interactive Guide brings virtual reality and augmented reality into the world of agricultural machines, with clear benefits for the customer.

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The purpose of the guide, supplied as a free app running on smartphone and tablet, is to explain the various functions available in the CLAAS tractor cab. The app does not replace the conventional hard-copy manual, but provides an easier way to answer some questions about cab functions. Instead of leafing through the manual, the user only needs to take a photograph of the relevant tractor controls with a smartphone.

Using the app in the cab

The app uses augmented reality technology to locate the required control component, which might be anything from a simple indicator light to the CSM (CLAAS Sequence Management). It then takes just a click on the smartphone or tablet to bring up an explanation of the required function, in the form of an illustrated text. For some of the more complex functions, it is planned to provide the explanations in the form of tutorials, to make the information more easily understandable for users. To locate a particular control component in the cab, the app has an integrated search function, operating on the basis of the telephone’s position finding system.

Use with VR goggles

There is also an option for using the app without having to be sitting in the cab. Instead, virtual reality and VR goggles are used to create a virtual experience of sitting in the cab (in 2D or 3D).

This is a quick and easy way for the user to learn the tractor functions even faster, and to get the full benefits of all the CLAAS assist systems – for optimum user convenience and maximum performance.

The app is available for all CLAAS tractors with infinitely variable CMATIC transmission technology (ARION 500 and 600, AXION 800 and 900), with further models to be added in the near future. The currently available languages are English and French, and a German version is in preparation.

The app is now available from the App Store (iPhone and iPad), or on Google Play (Android) for downloading to a smartphone or tablet.