AGCO is well on the way to providing a full telemetry machine management system for its three main tractor brands — Valtra, Fendt and Massey Ferguson. Pilot units are already up and running in the UK for Valtra Connect; Fendt Connect will appear in September; and MF Connect is due to follow suit in January 2019.
Developed in conjunction with dealers and end users, the brand-specific systems effectively replace AG Command 1 and 2, and they comprise an on-machine SIM card module that transmits data to the respective Connect digital platforms. This info can then be accessed via a PC, tablet or smartphone app.
For end users there are some significant advantages in terms of optimising fleet management. They can view fuel consumption, travel speed and working output of individual machines in real time, as well as see the position of the vehicle and receive a status report. They can also be warned of upcoming service intervals and monitor any error messages.
Then there’s the dealer element. Remote diagnostics and error codes are sent directly from the machine to the dealer, who at the same time can instantly identify the individual machine and its history.
AGCO says the systems are relatively generic at the moment, but in future there will be developments more specific to types of machine such as combines, balers, sprayers etc.
Taking machine management several steps further, AGCO also plans to start rolling out ‘Next Machine Management’ in 2019 as part of a joint project with Krone, Kuhn, Lemken, Pöttinger, Rauch and software firm FarmFacts. The aim here is to allow farmers to make even more use of the data gathered from their machines. In effect, it is a web-based farm management system that collates information from machines via the Agrirouter data transfer platform, which then enables farmers to determine where the data is sent and how it’s used. Examples of tasks include the transfer of waylines or application maps as well as the collation of more detailed management information.
