Advanced Precision Agriculture Boom Control for John Deere 4030 Boomspray
Integrated with AgOpenGPS Development Framework
ABLS is a comprehensive multi-sensor boom leveling system designed for precision agricultural applications, integrated with the AgOpenGPS development framework. The system uses advanced sensor fusion combining GPS RTK, IMU, radar, and hydraulic ram feedback to maintain optimal boom height and level across varying terrain conditions.
🔗 AgOpenGPS Integration: This project builds upon the proven AgOpenGPS platform to provide boom control capabilities while maintaining compatibility with the broader AgOpenGPS ecosystem and contributing developments back to the community.
🎯 Multi-Sensor Fusion: GPS RTK + IMU + Radar + Hydraulic Ram Potentiometers
🌐 RTK Precision: Sub-centimeter accuracy with ZED-F9P GPS modules
🔄 Real-Time Control: 100Hz hydraulic control with PID optimization
📡 Network Architecture: Robust UDP communication with error recovery
🔧 Professional Calibration: Multi-point sensor correlation with manual level setting
🚀 Network Updates: Enterprise-grade firmware update system with rollback
📊 Comprehensive Diagnostics: Real-time health monitoring and error logging
🤝 Community Integration: Built on AgOpenGPS framework for ecosystem compatibility
- 3x Teensy 4.1 Modules: Left Wing, Centre (Master), Right Wing
- GPS: u-blox ZED-F9P RTK receivers (10Hz, sub-cm accuracy)
- IMU: SparkFun BNO080 9-DOF sensors (100Hz, magnetometer disabled for metal boom)
- Radar: SparkFun Acconeer XM125 distance sensors (agricultural range/threshold tuning)
- Hydraulics: 3x PID-controlled rams with potentiometer feedback via ADS1115 ADC
- Network: Ethernet to Panasonic Toughbook with QNEthernet library
- Diagnostics: PiicoDev OLED displays + SD card logging per module
- Unified Firmware: Single codebase with GPIO role detection (DIP switch configuration)
- Sensor Fusion: Dead reckoning with GPS/IMU integration at 50Hz output
- Network Protocol: UDP-based with packet validation and error recovery
- Update System: Network-based dual-bank flash with SHA256 verification and automatic rollback
- Calibration: Multi-sensor correlation with manual level reference setting
- Unified firmware for all three modules with role detection
- Complete sensor integration (GPS, IMU, Radar, ADC)
- Network communication with robust error handling
- PID hydraulic control system
- RTCM correction distribution from centre to wings
- Comprehensive diagnostic logging and OLED display
- SD card logging for crash diagnostics
- Professional WPF Calibration Application (.NET 8.0)
- Manual Level Setting Workflow (installer measures boom tip heights)
- Triple-Sensor Integration (IMU + Ram Potentiometers + Radar)
- Real-Time Multi-Sensor Correlation with agreement analysis
- 4-Step Calibration Process (Manual Level → Level → Max Up → Max Down)
- Agricultural-Specific Features (vegetation warnings, field-appropriate UI)
- Dual-Bank Flash Architecture with automatic rollback
- Network-Based Updates via HTTP download and UDP control
- SHA256 Integrity Verification for firmware images
- Safety Checks (machine stationary, hydraulics idle)
- Version Management with persistent storage
- Update Safety Manager with timeout and error recovery
- Comprehensive 3-Part Technical Reference (100+ pages)
- Part 1: System Architecture & Hardware Specifications
- Part 2: Network Communication & Data Structures
- Part 3: Firmware Updates & Integration
- Complete API Documentation with code examples
- Field Deployment Procedures and troubleshooting guides
- Integration Guidelines for ABLS.Core and Toughbook
- Sequential Module Update Workflow (one module at a time)
- Version Synchronization across all modules at startup
- Hardware Testing with actual Teensy modules and sensors
- Field Validation of multi-sensor calibration accuracy
-
AgOpenGPS Integration (Toughbook application)
-
DEM Terrain Integration for predictive boom control
-
Advanced Control Algorithms with machine learning optimization
- Hardware: 3x Teensy 4.1 with sensor modules
- Software: Arduino IDE with required libraries
- Network: Ethernet connection to Toughbook
- Calibration: Windows PC with .NET 8.0 runtime
-
Flash Firmware:
# Configure DIP switches for module roles # Left Wing: Pin 2 to GND # Centre: Pin 3 to GND # Right Wing: Pin 4 to GND # Upload unified firmware to all modules arduino --upload src/Firmware/ABLSModule/ABLSModule.ino
-
Network Setup:
# Configure Toughbook Ethernet # DHCP or static IP (192.168.1.x range) # Verify UDP ports 8888-8892 are open
-
Sensor Calibration:
# Build and run calibration app cd src/ABLSIMUCalibrator dotnet build dotnet run # Follow 4-step calibration workflow # 1. Manual level reference setting # 2. Level position capture # 3. Maximum up position # 4. Maximum down position
Module Role Detection (DIP Switch):
- Pin 2 → GND: Left Wing Module
- Pin 3 → GND: Centre Module
- Pin 4 → GND: Right Wing Module
- Pin 5 → GND: Spare Module 1
- Pin 6 → GND: Spare Module 2
Network Ports:
- 8888: Sensor data (Module → Toughbook)
- 8889: Control commands (Toughbook → Centre)
- 8890: RTCM corrections
- 8891: Firmware updates
- 8892: Diagnostic data
Comprehensive technical documentation is available in the docs/ directory:
- Part 1: System Architecture
- Part 2: Network Communication & Data Structures
- Part 3: Firmware Updates & Integration
ABLS/
├── docs/ # Technical documentation
│ ├── ABLS_Firmware_Technical_Reference_Part1.md
│ ├── ABLS_Firmware_Technical_Reference_Part2.md
│ └── ABLS_Firmware_Technical_Reference_Part3.md
├── src/
│ ├── Firmware/
│ │ └── ABLSModule/ # Unified Teensy firmware
│ │ ├── ABLSModule.ino # Main firmware file
│ │ ├── SensorManager.cpp # Multi-sensor integration
│ │ ├── NetworkManager.cpp # UDP communication
│ │ ├── HydraulicController.cpp # PID control
│ │ ├── DiagnosticManager.cpp # Logging & health
│ │ └── FlasherX/ # Network update system
│ ├── ABLSIMUCalibrator/ # WPF calibration application
│ │ ├── MainWindow.xaml # Professional UI
│ │ ├── MainWindow.xaml.cs # Multi-sensor calibration logic
│ │ └── ABLSIMUCalibrator.csproj
│ ├── ABLS.Core/ # AgOpenGPS integration (planned)
│ └── RgFModuleUpdater/ # Firmware update utility
└── README.md
- MCU: 600 MHz ARM Cortex-M7
- Memory: 8MB Flash (dual-bank), 1MB RAM
- Connectivity: Ethernet, I2C, UART, SPI
- Storage: SD card slot for logging
- GPS: u-blox ZED-F9P (UART, RTK capable)
- IMU: SparkFun BNO080 (I2C, 9-DOF with sensor fusion)
- Radar: SparkFun Acconeer XM125 (I2C, distance detection)
- Display: PiicoDev OLED SSD1306 (I2C, diagnostics)
- ADC: Adafruit ADS1115 (I2C, 16-bit, 4-channel)
- Hydraulic Rams: 3x with potentiometer feedback
- RTCM Radio: For GPS corrections (UART)
Contributions are welcome!
- Fork the repository
- Create a feature branch
- Make your changes
- Add tests if applicable
- Submit a pull request
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.
- SparkFun Electronics (GitHub) for excellent Open-Source breakout boards, hookup guides, and libraries.
- Nathan Seidle (GitHub) The truly humble Champion of Open-Source Hardware (http://sparkfun.com)
- Paul Z Clark (GitHub) for SparkFun u-blox library contributions and GPS expertise
- PJRC (Teensy) for the powerful Teensy 4.1 platform and ecosystem
- Adafruit Industries for the ADS1115 ADC library and hardware modules
- Joe Pasquariello for FlasherX for the bones of the Firmware Updater
- SparkFun u-blox GNSS Arduino Library - High-precision GPS integration
- SparkFun BNO080 Arduino Library - IMU sensor fusion and calibration
- SparkFun Qwiic XM125 Arduino Library - Radar distance detection
- QNEthernet Library - Teensy 4.1 Ethernet networking
- Adafruit ADS1115 Library - 16-bit ADC for hydraulic ram sensing
- Simtheory (simtheory.ai), the authors and also creators of a "Very Average AI Podcast", Chris and Michael Sharkey (This Day in AI) for their inspiration and (mostly) weekly rants!
- Claude Sonnet - AI assistance for rapid prototyping and code generation. Thanks to AI, we can now openly ask the dumb questions and get fantastic answers with no judgment! This is where I believe AI will truly empower human advancement, enabling us and our children to learn, prosper, realise our full potential, and contribute to society in our unique human ways.
- Windsurf - AI-powered development environment enabling accelerated development of real-world tools (as long as you take the time to learn the limitations, structure projects, and prompt accordingly!)
For questions, issues, or contributions:
- GitHub Issues: Report bugs or request features
- Documentation: See
docs/directory for technical details
ABLS - Precision Agriculture Through Advanced Sensor Fusion 🚜🌾