Sistema de gerenciamento de maquinário agrícola baseado em Internet das Coisas

Abstract

A major motivator in optimizing agricultural processes is by estimating world population growth and the consequent increase in food production. For this, Precision Agriculture (PA) seeks to reduce the amount of nutrients and other inputs used, increasing the quality and productivity of crops without adding cultivated area. Through advances in electronic instrumentation and embedded systems, it has been possible to accelerate PA developments. As a result, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools and digital management platforms, which were used to be restricted to large-scale processing plants, now migrate to smaller systems far from large power plants, reaching the agricultural market. Tools like Internet of Things (IoT) and Robot Operating System (ROS) are capable of integrating various systems, sensors and actuators. They allow the monitoring of system variables, communication between all units in the machine and implements, communication with remote servers, and control of any actuator in that system. Thus, these systems can be an excellent tool for Precision Agriculture. This work presents the implementation wireless network infrastructure capable of integrating farm machinery and rural installations to the farm headquarters and to a remote server. It also deals with the development of a modular embedded system for agricultural machinery, capable of collecting data during the operation of the tractor-implement assembly through specific sensors for each parameter, displaying information to the machinery operator and sending information to the farm manager. This system also allows the exchange of management information between the farm manager and the operator. All of its elements is open-source for cost reduction in order to diffuse and reach producers and other developers. The use of a computer embedded in a tractor allowed a large scale expansion of the processing power of data collected on the machinery. The architecture, made up of layers, made the system modular, which added versatility to the development and use of the product. The results of the communication tests between the layers attest that the system meets the proposal and guarantees full data integrity and excellent communication speed.