Toro Partners with Virginia Tech for GPS Sprayer Technology Research

Toro is pleased to announce a partnership with Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in Blacksburg, Virginia, to aid in GPS sprayer technology research efforts. Full access to a new Toro^® Multi Pro^® 5800 with GeoLink® has been provided to the university to support the project

The unit will be delivered in time for the Virginia Turfgrass Research Classic, which will take place on May 22, 2017, at The Country Club of Virginia. The event includes a golf tournament to raise funds for turfgrass research, as well as a field day where guests are encouraged to visit turfgrass plots setup by Virginia Tech researchers on which the new Toro Multi Pro 5800 with GeoLink will be on display.

“Access to the Multi Pro 5800 with GeoLink will be a substantial help in furthering our understanding of GPS technology as it pertains to turf care,” said David McCall, assistant professor at Virginia Tech. “With support from manufacturers like Toro, we are able to conduct leading-edge research with the latest technologies to in turn provide impactful information to the industry.”

Virginia Tech and Toro’s Center for Advanced Turf Technology (CATT) will share in the research findings at the end of the research period of approximately two years.

“We wholeheartedly believe in investing in research that will benefit the turf industry in the future,” said Josh Friell, senior principal research scientist at Toro. “Innovation is one of our core principles, and we support the great research the Virginia Tech team will be working on for the next two years, and beyond.”

Toro partnered with Topcon Positioning Systems to develop the GeoLink precision spray system, delivering a spraying solution that minimizes overspray and ultimately saves on chemical costs. In an effort to maximize accuracy, the system is available in both Wide-Area Augmentation System (WAAS) and Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) correction system configurations. Using the RTK system, the new GPS sprayer from Toro is accurate and repeatable to within 1cm of set parameters.

Smith Turf & Irrigation’s regional distribution facility in Richmond, Virginia will provide the initial setup and delivery of the unit, and will work closely with both Toro and Virginia Tech to support the ongoing equipment maintenance needs of the Toro Multi Pro 5800 with GeoLink. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, the long-time Toro distributor serves Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.