Claas UK set out the benefits of its new Telematics on Implement (TONI) system, which is set to revolutionise field and output data collecting and management, at the 2012 Precision Farming Event.
Claas’ Telematics output monitoring and information system, which is currently available on Claas tractors, combines and foragers, is unprecedented in the amount of management data it is able to provide. Farmers and managers can then analyse and use this data to make informed decisions on how to further improve efficiency from their combine, forage harvester or tractor.
Until now the system has only been able to provide operational information on these self-propelled machines, but now Claas has now taken the telematics concept a stage further as TONI means it is also possible to gather data from the implement being used behind a tractor.
Currently undergoing final pre-series trials, TONI will be fully available late in 2012, but has already been recognised by being awarded a Silver Medal at Agritechnica 2011.
In an era where farming businesses are having to record and store an increasing amount of agronomic and field data for regulatory purposes, TONI will be invaluable in helping gather all the field data necessary. In addition, it will also help simplify invoicing and provide greater real time information. This will enable complete work processes to be analysed, compared and stored for future reference. In addition it also will enable additional operational information, such as fuel per bale to be analysed.
However, one of the most useful features for the UK will be the ease with which information such as spray, fertiliser or slurry application data can be gathered, stored and retrieved in order to meet regulatory requirements. Until now, in order to meet these requirements or for a contractor to assemble information for invoicing, this has required the operator to keep accurate daily records, for instance what has been applied to which field and at what rate. All this data to then has to be uploaded onto the office computer, which is both time consuming and open to error.
Using TONI, all this manual record keeping is eliminated. As the tractor enters the field, if the field is already recorded on the Telematics system, for instance from yield mapping, then the system will automatically recognise the field from its location and will start to upload the latest application data to that field file. If there is no previous field record, the field boundary and application data will still be gathered and this can then be subsequently allocated a field name or identity for future use.
To access this information, TONI uses an open system to communicate and gather data from the implement via Isobus. This data is then uploaded every 15 minutes via the GPRS mobile phone network to a server along with the tractor output data.
This can then be accessed from the office PC or hand-held web-enabled device, where both sets of information are displayed as one working unit and, if required, can be used to create spray records, application maps, and so on.
While TONI will be able to gather data from any Isobus-compatible machine in the future, in the first instance it will be available for Quadrant 3200, 3300 and 3400 balers, plus implements from Amazone, Horsch, Lemkin, SGT, Kaweco and Zunhammer.
For more information visit: www.claas.co.uk.
