Claas thinks different brands of precision farming equipment should work together, and has announced a couple of steps forward.
From November its free Telematics app (Android/iOS) will recognise iBeacons. These cheap, readily available small devices broadcast a unique identifier. Put an iBeacon on a ‘dumb’ implement (rolls, subsoiler, etc), pair it to the app and define its parameters. Then between the app and Telematics in the tractor, the implement’s operations are automatically included in precision farming records. Or there’s the new £7,900 RTK Field Base unit. Offering subscription-free RTK correction, this mobile unit talks to most makes of GPS receiver and can handle multiple machines simultaneously. GLONASS compatibility boosts accuracy, which is claimed to be 2-3cm pass-pass after 3mins convergence. Updates elsewhere include capability expansion for the top-line S10 terminal (including ready communication with all major farm software packages) and the introduction of a new mobile RTK network covering the whole of Ireland. More in an upcoming issue of profi.
