On Kverneland machines
Tools become smart with the arrival of telematics
For 2018, Kverneland is introducing a telematics system on some of their implements. This makes it one of the first manufacturers to make machines 'smart' by adding electronics, which you can use to watch from a distance. The official introduction will take place at the Agritechnica.
During their Agritechnica Preview Days, Kverneland already lifted a corner of the veil of their IsoMatch FarmCentre telematics system. This system was completely developed in-house at the electronics branch Mechatronics in Nieuw-Vennep. For now it only works on Kverneland and Vicon implements. In the future, however, the system should be open to other manufacturers. It has drawn up a protocol for this.
Telematics and Telemetry
Telematics is a relatively new development within mechanization. A distinction must be made between telematics and telemetry. The former refers to the communication and information processing of, for example, a GPS system. Telemetry only refers to the communication process, in which data is collected and sent. Claas is especially known for this technology in agriculture, but other brands are quickly following suit. It has been used for quite some time on combine harvesters and forage harvesters. This brand is now extending the technology to tractors and implements. John Deere is also investing widely in telematics.
6 functions
From 2018, the Kverneland system will be applied in practice. The first version has six options. From your office or with the app you can send tasks to the driver, you can read performances, see the location, see if maintenance is required, what the achieved capacity is and you will receive warnings. In addition, a reporting option is still being worked on.
Quickly schedule work
One of the important functions, which Kverneland showed live during the press meeting, is the planning of work. The so-called 'task management'. You send an ISO-XML file to the tractor remotely. The driver immediately knows where to spread, what the plot is like and how much to apply. When the work is done, you upload the data again and receive it in the app or at the office. Walking back and forth with USB sticks is a thing of the past and that should save costs.
Kverneland's system works in conjunction with the Tellus Pro and Tellus Go terminals. They must be equipped with a dongle to have internet access. If no internet signal is available, the data is buffered.
Data is safe
Anyone who wants to get started with FarmCentre will receive a MyKverneland or MyVicon account and access to the 'Kverneland Cloud', to which data is sent. The European privacy legislation is taken into account in this, it emphasizes. Data collected by the farmer remains with him and is securely stored in the Netherlands. At a later date, the company wants to set up a kind of marketplace where other brands can also offer themselves to control via the same platform.
In addition to the terminal with an internet connection and data subscription (IsoMatch Mobile), your tractor must be equipped with a GPS system. The FarmCentre app is available for all iOS and Android smartphones and tablets. Updating is done automatically, because it is a web application.
Not everything clear
Which tools you can remotely monitor and control from 2018 will remain a secret for the time being. It is also not told which fellow manufacturers may be interested. More details will be revealed at the Agritechnica. The aim is to make all machines 'smart' and connect them to a cloud account, it says. The machine is in charge of the tractor in front of it. Even if they have their own telematics system.
However, the question remains how other brands view the protocol that Kverneland has developed. Will this give us a repeat of the Isobus system, or have companies learned from this? Especially given the fact that several systems are now on the market, this can cause headaches. Every brand believes in its own system. No farmer wants his tractor, seed drill and combine to use a different system. We are also uncertain about the costs for the time being.
Niels van der Boom
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