Weather update GPS technology
Can you still drive straight after April 6?
A so-called 'GPS roll' will take place on Saturday 6 April. Each GPS receiver then starts counting from 0 again. This can affect the operation of a GPS system. This can also cause hindrance in the agricultural sector, although it is difficult to make firm statements.
An enormous amount of devices now use GPS. The technology is also indispensable in the agricultural sector. A 'GPS roll' takes place once every 20 years. In good Dutch: a gps rotation† Simply put, after resetting the date and time, a system can get confused. However, the exact consequences are different for each system.
How does it work?
A GPS satellite broadcasts the clock time information. This shows the current week and the number of seconds since the start of that week. The receiver translates this signal into a year, month and day. However, this signal can only send 1.024 weeks in total. Week 0 started in August 1999, causing the GPS satellite to start counting from 6 again on April 2019, 0.
This reset may cause a system to reset the date to August 21, 1999, potentially causing problems. Another option is that the reference date has been set at a later time, so that you will still have problems later on. In the most favorable case, the date will not be displayed correctly, but the system will still function. In an unfavorable case, nothing works anymore.
In practice it is less dramatic. Hopefully the manufacturers have anticipated this GPS roll, which is perfectly predictable. If the GPS system is regularly updated, the software is often already prepared. Especially old systems, which have not been updated, can be expected to malfunction.
Some manufacturers have also experienced such a GPS roll in 1999. Still, it surprises you how unprepared they seem. About 20 years ago, the number of systems was not that large; certainly not in agriculture. Today, the number of active systems is unimaginably large. Boerenbusiness asked the Dutch GPS suppliers about possible consequences.
Raven
The American Raven, formerly SBG Precision Farming, is still working on mapping out the possible consequences. Incidentally, that is not so simple, thinks representative Robert Sleutel: "One possibility is that a GPS system does function, but no longer receives 1 or more satellites. You hardly notice this until you drive to a place where the reception is reduced. : for example under a row of trees. Then 1 satellite more or less can make the difference."
"The situation is not easy, however, because you have to deal with various parts suppliers, for example for the GPS receiver. We work together with the Belgian Septentrio for this. Their AsteRx receivers have been tested since 2010. This means that the GeoStar, Viper and Viper 4 will not be hindered. For the blue T010 case, we have to wait and see, partly because different firmware versions are used."
John Deere
John Deere has been building GPS systems for 20 years and has been through the previous GPS roll. Robin Bos, precision agriculture specialist at Groenoord, does not dare to rule out malfunctions, but does not expect any problems for recent systems. "This has already been included in the firmware updates of recent years. Since the very old systems have already had to deal with the GPS roll, this may also be easier."
Trimble
Vantage Agrometius, Trimble's importer, also believes that the recent systems, which are regularly updated, will not experience much hindrance. "Trimble is now mainly testing the older systems, about which information is still being released," explains marketing manager Maarten van Kampen. "It has already been anticipated in previous software versions. After all, the problem was known. If it is limited to an incorrect date, the question is how much you will notice it."
AgLeader
Ag Leader, a supplier of GPS systems, already provided it with an update last year, which anticipates the GPS roll. Non-current systems can be affected. "Roll-over-resistant software is now available for all Ag Leader products", says Geert-Jan Giesberts of importer Homburg. "We don't dare to promise whether that is also the case for all hardware."
Topcon
At Topcon, the exact impact is not yet clear. The company is in the process of validating and testing all software. The company has a special page created to which you can register. If there is news about a software update or anticipated problems, you will be notified immediately.
Not only the GPS system in your tractor or self-propelled vehicle is affected. The base stations are also affected. MoveRTK, one of the largest Dutch providers of a correction signal, has already sent out a mailing to highlight the uncertainty. In particular, stations that have been standing for years, and that have never been looked after, can run on significantly outdated software. For example, systems can function well, but your correction signal can cause problems.
Millennium bug?
The whole topic is very similar to the millennium bug that worried the whole world in 1999. In the end, it all came to a screeching halt. There is a good chance that this will also happen with the GPS roll. It remains remarkable that manufacturers and parts suppliers have had 20 years to anticipate this problem. Given the current situation, this has not always happened.
The chance that the problem will occur again in 2039 is small. The current GPS systems use a different date format with many more numbers, which obviates this problem.
Niels van der Boom
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