John Deere unveils 750K, 850K dozers with SmartGrade mast-free GPS

The SmartGrade system is the latest evolution of the technology that uses digital site plans and GPS to automatically set the blade height to the finished grade, thus eliminating most survey stakes and grade checks on earthmoving sites. Without the need to wait for survey stakes or regular grade checks, contractors find GPS machine control to be significantly faster and more efficient than traditional methods of earthmoving. GPS machine control has also given dozers sufficient precision that motor graders are no longer needed for the final grade work.

How Deere’s SmartGrade system differs from conventional machine control GPS systems is that it does not require the use of a GPS receiver mounted on the blade of the dozer and cables running back to the body of the machine, similar to Komatsu’s intelligent Machine Control system. Instead it uses Topcon’s 3D-MC2 grade control system which integrates all the components into the machine itself
Instead of an awkward and potentially breakable mast sticking up off the blade, the system uses two GPS receivers on top of the cab and two inertial measurement units (IMUs): one on the body of the machine and the other on the backside of the blade.