Agricultural Telemetry Unit for Remote Weather Data Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Agricultural operations face challenges in remotely monitoring environmental conditions at unattended or distant fields, leading to inefficient use of time and resources due to the limitations of existing systems like ONSTAR, which require third-party intervention and are not mobile or adaptable for agricultural machines.
Innovation Solution
A system that equips agricultural machines with a telemetry unit for bidirectional communication, allowing operators to remotely query weather and environmental conditions using a cell phone or computer, without the need for dedicated equipment or third-party services, by integrating a weather station with the machine's controller area network (CAN) and using existing communication architectures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If manual field checks are performed to monitor environmental conditions, then operators can obtain weather data, but time and resources are wasted due to unnecessary travel to fields with unsuitable conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The agricultural machine performs self-monitoring of environmental conditions using onboard sensors and autonomously transmits this data through its telemetry unit, eliminating the need for operators to manually check fields and make unnecessary trips
Solution Approach 2:
The telemetry unit acts as an intermediary between the environmental sensors and the operator's mobile device, enabling remote access to field conditions data without physical presence at the location
2Measurement precision
If operators check each field individually to determine suitable conditions, then local weather data can be obtained, but the process becomes time-consuming when multiple fields are involved
Solution Approach 1:
Each agricultural field or machine is equipped with independent environmental sensors and telemetry capabilities, allowing parallel monitoring of multiple locations simultaneously rather than sequential checking
Solution Approach 2:
The telemetry unit serves multiple functions including environmental data collection, wireless communication, and integration with various sensor types, enabling a single system to handle monitoring across numerous fields
3Ease of operation
If dedicated remote monitoring equipment and third-party services are deployed, then environmental conditions can be remotely accessed, but system complexity and costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The environmental sensing, data processing, and wireless communication functions are merged into the agricultural machine's existing telemetry unit, eliminating the need for separate dedicated monitoring equipment and third-party service infrastructure
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the machine's existing telemetry infrastructure (originally designed for other purposes) to copy and transmit environmental data, avoiding the need for specialized remote monitoring hardware
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for remote query of weather conditions at an agricultural machine use an onboard telemetry unit as a gateway for communication with the machine. The telemetry unit can be coupled to both the machine's electrical system at the machine, and a machine's controller area network (CAN). A user can call up the machine's telemetry unit using a cell phone or personal computer to retrieve weather data such as temperature, humidity and rainfall from a weather station coupled to the machine. A system can provide an alert when a desired predetermined condition is present at a machine, for example an alert that a harvesting or baling condition is present. The system can also enable an operator or fleet manager to check the state of various devices or apparatus at a machine, enabling remote diagnostics via the onboard telemetry unit.