CAN Bus in Agriculture

We all know about the CAN Bus network by now but just in case; the CAN (Controller Area Network) bus was designed to allow multiple messages to be sent between nodes connected to the same bus lines. Each node can send messages aimed to go to specific nodes. The CAN Bus is a multi-master serial bus which provides communications between controllers, sensors, and actuators. Due to this a research team at Iowa State University has developed a series of technology solutions to directly capture CAN Bus machinery management parameters. The CyCAN data logging platform is a standalone ECU specifically aimed at quantifying the key parameters of agricultural machinery.

A CAN Bus system can currently be found in farm machinery like a corn harvester and a tractor and baler both of which are operating in a corn field. This technology was used to capture high precision logistical data on over 15,000 acres of corn fields. The operating state of the machinery was continuously and automatically monitored by the CAN system. Information like ground speed and PTO (power take off used to power the baler) speed of the tractor used to bale the straw could be used to show the in-field productivity, in-field down time caused by necessary repairs and maintenance of the machinery, over the road transport time of the machinery to the field(s) and the time taken to transport the corn to the desired factory or farm for further processing. Additional CAN bus messages taken from the balers would indicate bale drop locations, bale pressure, bale length, and bale quantity. This information would give an overall quality of the bales in the field as well as a map of the field’s bales. 

All of this information can allow researchers to develop risk and cost distribution models for biomass supply chains and the impacts associated with changes to the supply change. For example, if a particular field caused consistent repairs to machinery and a lot of down time caused by the repairs then from this information it could be determined that this field should no longer be included in the supply chain. Also if the headlands are particularly rocky then the person harvesting the field could be instructed to avoid the headlands within so many meters to prevent damage to machinery. 

The image below shows a fuel consumption analysis while baling straw in a single field. This information could be used to optimize tractor sizing for a given field e.g. if it is a smooth and level field with very few repairs needed, then a smaller tractor with a simple baler could be sent. However if the field is prone to uneven ground and likely to causes maintenance issues then a larger tractor with a more robust baler could be sent. GPS information used alongside all the other information could give performance probabilities for certain terrains and areas. This information would indicate if it is cost effective to keep an area in the supply chain. It also improves efficiency of the overall system because sending the right machinery means less maintenance cost and less down time for maintenance resulting in more crops being harvested in the same amount of time. In farming efficiency is key.

[1]

Fuel Consumption in a Corn Field

by Thomas Murphy

[1] CAN Bus Technology Enables Advanced Machinery Management