A TEAM of Thomasian engineers has developed a GPS-powered automation system for tractors, designed to simplify the operation of agricultural machinery.
The AGROTIS Navigation System was designed to address the continuous decline in agricultural labor and problems in food sustainability, according to Assoc. Prof. Anthony Bautista of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, the lead researcher of the project.
“Farmers commonly use traditional hand tractors, and operating those is hard because they expose the farmer to a lot of vibrations,” Bautista told the Varsitarian. “It’s difficult to guide the tractor up and down the field, and overall, operating it takes a toll on the farmer.”
Bautista, who comes from a family of rice farmers, was joined in the project by Asst. Prof. Mary Grace Bautista of the Department of Electronics Engineering and engineering alumnus John Red.
AGROTIS integrates two essential sensors: a GPS to track the tractor’s coordinates and a compass module to determine its orientation.
“These sensors process information through a microcontroller, which handles steering and navigation,” Bautista said. “Additionally, we designed a safety system for the tractor. For example, in case of an emergency or if the tractor becomes uncontrollable, the system can remotely shut it off.”
Farmers can also operate more than one tractor simultaneously, which Bautista said was cost-efficient.
“In the provinces, many still use carabaos for farming, but this navigation system is modular and can be retrofitted onto existing four-wheel tractors with minimal modifications,” he said.
According to Bautista, standard testing results by the Agricultural Machinery Testing and Evaluation Center (AMTEC) in 2024 showed that AGROTIS took 20 hours per hectare for land preparation, compared with 31 hours per hectare using traditional carabaos.
“It’s not just about automation. The system is about empowering farmers to adapt to changing times and conditions,” he said. “By providing farmers with efficient, convenient working environments, it reduces the need for manual labor and allows them to focus on other important tasks.”
The team plans to commercialize AGROTIS through rental models for rice cooperatives and direct sales to farmers, ensuring accessibility for a wider range of agricultural producers.
The researchers also aim to establish partnerships with international tractor manufacturers to expand the system’s reach and integrate it into global markets.
In November 2024, AGROTIS won the grand prize in the professional category of the 5th Socially Relevant Technologies Innovation Contest.
Funded by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD), the AGROTIS system was developed in collaboration with the Philippine Rice Research Institute, the International Rice Research Institute, and UST’s technology business incubator, the TOMASInno Center.
