The day may not be far off when a farmer does his spring planting, not from the driver's seat of a tractor, but from his office desk. And instead of driving a single tractor, he will be able to monitor several automated units at once, as they till fields, plant seeds, dispense fertilizer and harvest crops.
The vision is known as precision farming, and it is based on a future generation of Intelligent Autonomy Vehicles (IAVs). While they will resemble conventional tractors and harvesters, the automated vehicles, which are now in the concept stage, will perform tasks from spring plowing through fall harvesting without the need for onboard human operators.
Why it's a game changer
Soil conditions such as acidity (pH), moisture, particle size, compaction, mineral content and organic composition can vary significantly from one area to the next within a field. Equipped with GPS navigation equipment and onboard sensors to analyze soil conditions, an IAV can measure soil characteristics on the fly at the front end, and then use the results of the soil analysis to dispense the precise application of fertilizer – all in a single pass as it traverses the field.
Processing intelligence is the key to precision farming, as the onboard embedded computer uses complex algorithms to perform fast analysis and calculate optimum chemical application rates in real time. The technique promises to save money by maximizing the productivity of farm equipment, minimizing the use of farm chemicals, conserving fuel and potentially increasing crop production by providing ideal applications of fertilizers and water.
Coordinating field preparation, planting and other tasks allows essential operations to be performed in the shortest possible time. The tractor can also build a database of statistical information that can be mapped to micro-sites within a field and correlated with crop monitoring data and satellite imagery throughout the growing season.
What's so intelligent about it?
Each tractor or other vehicle will be guided by an onboard control system consisting of two subsystems:
A control subsystem based on an embedded Intel® Atom™ processor to run analytic software programs and power the vehicle's sophisticated Human-Machine Interface (HMI), which shows a real-time map of the field, and provides data on soil conditions, water, crop characteristics, and other variables.
A communications subsystem for GPS positioning, navigation, steering, onboard connectivity, and WLAN-based communication to the farm's monitoring center.
The energy efficient performance and low thermal characteristics of Intel Atom processors make them ideal for fanless, convection cooled, small-footprint onboard embedded automation and control computers designed to withstand dust, heat, humidity and vibration. Intel® architecture also provides the processing performance and headroom to run sophisticated applications for analysis, data mapping and the HMI.
Intel® Embedded and Communications Alliance member MEN Mikro Elektronik is already fielding interest in its products for IAVs in farming. Barbara Schmitz, chief marketing officer, notes "Coupled with application-specific carrier boards, our COM solutions XM1 (ESMexpress*) or MM1 (ESMini*) using Intel Atom processors Z530 and Z510 and industrial temperature versions Z510P, Z530P, Z510PT, Z520PT are ideal for developing solutions for harsh, mobile environments like farm and other commercial vehicles."
In addition to sampling local soil conditions and monitoring crops, onboard sensors will also be used for machine vision systems for collision avoidance and crop monitoring. Other sensors can monitor the fuel state and operating condition of the tractor and its attached implements and send read-outs to the farm's central monitoring station. Automatic alerts can enable farm operators to perform preventive maintenance to avoid costly equipment breakdowns.
The HMI systems, whether in the tractor's cab or displayed on a monitor back at the farm office, can be identical for every vehicle on the farm. This makes it easy for a single operator to supervise, and if necessary control several autonomous vehicles simultaneously from an office or a mobile computer in a pickup truck.
Automated vehicles powered by intelligent, connected embedded devices are about to make precision farming a reality around the globe, promising greater productivity, at less cost, to help feed the world.
The vision is known as precision farming, and it is based on a future generation of Intelligent Autonomy Vehicles (IAVs). While they will resemble conventional tractors and harvesters, the automated vehicles, which are now in the concept stage, will perform tasks from spring plowing through fall harvesting without the need for onboard human operators.
Why it's a game changer
Soil conditions such as acidity (pH), moisture, particle size, compaction, mineral content and organic composition can vary significantly from one area to the next within a field. Equipped with GPS navigation equipment and onboard sensors to analyze soil conditions, an IAV can measure soil characteristics on the fly at the front end, and then use the results of the soil analysis to dispense the precise application of fertilizer – all in a single pass as it traverses the field.
Processing intelligence is the key to precision farming, as the onboard embedded computer uses complex algorithms to perform fast analysis and calculate optimum chemical application rates in real time. The technique promises to save money by maximizing the productivity of farm equipment, minimizing the use of farm chemicals, conserving fuel and potentially increasing crop production by providing ideal applications of fertilizers and water.
Coordinating field preparation, planting and other tasks allows essential operations to be performed in the shortest possible time. The tractor can also build a database of statistical information that can be mapped to micro-sites within a field and correlated with crop monitoring data and satellite imagery throughout the growing season.
What's so intelligent about it?
Each tractor or other vehicle will be guided by an onboard control system consisting of two subsystems:
A control subsystem based on an embedded Intel® Atom™ processor to run analytic software programs and power the vehicle's sophisticated Human-Machine Interface (HMI), which shows a real-time map of the field, and provides data on soil conditions, water, crop characteristics, and other variables.
A communications subsystem for GPS positioning, navigation, steering, onboard connectivity, and WLAN-based communication to the farm's monitoring center.
The energy efficient performance and low thermal characteristics of Intel Atom processors make them ideal for fanless, convection cooled, small-footprint onboard embedded automation and control computers designed to withstand dust, heat, humidity and vibration. Intel® architecture also provides the processing performance and headroom to run sophisticated applications for analysis, data mapping and the HMI.
Intel® Embedded and Communications Alliance member MEN Mikro Elektronik is already fielding interest in its products for IAVs in farming. Barbara Schmitz, chief marketing officer, notes "Coupled with application-specific carrier boards, our COM solutions XM1 (ESMexpress*) or MM1 (ESMini*) using Intel Atom processors Z530 and Z510 and industrial temperature versions Z510P, Z530P, Z510PT, Z520PT are ideal for developing solutions for harsh, mobile environments like farm and other commercial vehicles."
In addition to sampling local soil conditions and monitoring crops, onboard sensors will also be used for machine vision systems for collision avoidance and crop monitoring. Other sensors can monitor the fuel state and operating condition of the tractor and its attached implements and send read-outs to the farm's central monitoring station. Automatic alerts can enable farm operators to perform preventive maintenance to avoid costly equipment breakdowns.
The HMI systems, whether in the tractor's cab or displayed on a monitor back at the farm office, can be identical for every vehicle on the farm. This makes it easy for a single operator to supervise, and if necessary control several autonomous vehicles simultaneously from an office or a mobile computer in a pickup truck.
Automated vehicles powered by intelligent, connected embedded devices are about to make precision farming a reality around the globe, promising greater productivity, at less cost, to help feed the world.
IAVs seem so sci-fi -- reading this article made me think of the scene in I, Robot where Will Smith is nearly killed by IAV demolition vehicles. Just another case of science fiction preceding reality, I guess.
Cheers,
Dave