STW at the Agrishow in Brazil: Focus on precision farming and ISOBUS

The agricultural market in Brazil and South America is growing steadily. Increasing harvests are also forecast for the coming years. This goes hand in hand with the need for automated farming systems. At the Agrishow in Ribeirão Preto, the automation specialists from STW will therefore be showcasing high-performance control systems and ISOBUS solutions for agricultural machinery and implements that help to maximize crop yields.

Brazil is one of the world's leading producers of various agricultural products. A large share of the global sugar, corn, coffee and soy harvests come from the South American country. Around 240 million hectares are used for agriculture - in comparison: Germany has 16.6 million hectares. Brazil's South American neighbors, such as Argentina and Bolivia, are also largely agricultural. This means that there is a huge demand for efficient agricultural machinery to farm these areas productively. The trend towards precision farming and connected, highly automated systems has long since arrived in South America. A Business Market Insights study expects the precision farming market to grow by more than 10 percent annually until 2031.

High-Speed ISOBUS ready 

STW, leading provider of automation solutions for agricultural machinery, has developed solutions to meet these needs. The company from Kaufbeuren, Germany, offers powerful control components that support conventional ISOBUS and the upcoming high-speed ISOBUS standard, especially for the interaction between tractor and implement. High-speed ISOBUS enables faster data communication and the exchange of much larger data streams between vehicle and implement than was previously possible using the conventional ISOBUS protocol. For example, camera signals can be exchanged between the tractor and trailer loss-free, making it easier to integrate camera-based assistance systems such as 360-degree all-round vision systems and object recognition systems for machine tractor-trailer combinations. The ESX.4cl-ag controller from STW, developed for demanding precision farming applications, has the necessary high-speed ISOBUS interfaces. 

The ESX.4cl-ag can also be optimally connected to other components on the machine via the six CANBUS interfaces and a managed Ethernet switch with a total of four Ethernet ports. There are also 56 low-side and high-side outputs as well as two 10 A half bridges for controlling electric motors. With SIL 2 / PL d and Ag PL d safety certification, the ESX.4cl-ag is equipped for the most demanding agricultural (ISOBUS) applications with special functional safety requirements. 

Ready for AI applications and mobile robotics

If you need even more computing power, you can rely on the high-performance automation platform HPX.ai-vision for AI-supported applications. The HPX.ai-vision uses a multiprocessor system to analyze and process sensor data from up to eight high-resolution cameras, LIDAR, radar and time-of-flight sensors. This data can be recorded simultaneously and processed with AI support in order to carry out a comprehensive environmental analysis and make smart decisions based on this. Previously, this required systems comprising several controllers. The HPX.ai-vision takes on these tasks as a central high-performance computer. This makes it the ideal basis for implementing highly automated and autonomous systems and machines in a user-friendly and economical way. The automation platform also has the necessary safety pre-certification for applications in mobile robotics. 

STW supplies the HPX.ai-vision as a preconfigured, future-proof plug-and-play solution for intelligent all-round vision systems with compatible high-performance ArkCam Velos cameras. The high-performance computer comes with the necessary software modules out-of-the-box to integrate camera-based assistance and automation systems without any major programming effort. 

Cloud communication made easy

To transmit data from the automation system to the cloud and for machine-to- machine communication, STW offers the TCG-4 connectivity gateway. It supports 4G, WiFi and Bluetooth as well as satellite-based navigation (GNSS) for centimeter-precise GPS-based automated positioning of the agricultural machine. Cloud-based computing services can be used with the TCG-4. STW offers a comprehensive range of IoT services based on AWS (Amazon Web Services) for this purpose. Over-the-air updates and remote diagnostic services are also possible via the TCG-4, which can be a great advantage when a service is required, especially in the large agricultural areas of South America. 

STW also manufactures a comprehensive portfolio of robust sensors for agricultural applications. A global network of support and service experts is available to optimally network and integrate the components. Interested machine manufacturers can meet STW experts at the Agrishow in Ribeirão Preto from April 28 to May 2 at stand PS-08.