SENTRAC platform for Sensor data for precision agriculture

Experiments have been conducted with precision farming in open ground cultivation for 20 years. Limitations include the high cost of current measurement systems, poor communication between tractors and implements, the lack of relevant sensor data from agricultural vehicles and implements, and the limitation of database systems used. There are also no links between measurement systems, agricultural business management software and geosoftware and systems, as well as knowledge of the relationship between measurement data, plant physiology and yield value.

The aim of the SENTRAC R&D collaboration project is to connect all relevant parameters, based on a telematics solution from the automotive sector. By unlocking sensor data from agricultural vehicles and equipment in combination with new measuring techniques, a large diversity of data about the plant, soil, nutrition, plant development and fruit yield, as well as the use of machines, fuel, nutrients, etc., is available. By collecting all this and more data on a web-based platform and combining it with Big Data analysis techniques, vehicle sensor data provide the basis for new developments and applications in precision agriculture. The future of precision farming lies in accessible systems, access to advanced data and the tools to easily analyze complex data.

The platform offers:

• Universal access to relevant data from the sensors that are present in agricultural vehicles and equipment.
• Direct link between analyzed data and operations via Wifi / 3G / 4G communication to realize savings in time, consumption of machines and raw materials.
• Open web-based platform with secure cloud storage and access, in which farmers can store their data.

Companies can develop and offer their technology and services for the platform. By unlocking sensor data from agricultural vehicles and tools and combining them with measuring techniques (such as blossom / fruit yield, wind force and direction, crop sensor or drone scan to weed growth) and analyzing this data with Big Data techniques, more accurate operations are possible .

Innovation stimulation:
In the context of the subsidy scheme for SME innovation stimulation Top Sectors South Netherlands 2015 (MIT South), co-financed by the province of Noord-Brabant, a project is underway to investigate whether the technology in the field of collecting data from vehicles, as currently applied in the automotive sector, can be used in modern tractors and agricultural implements. The project is partly realized with financial support from the province of Noord-Brabant. They use the special version of the CAN bus, ISOBUS, as it occurs in tractors and implements and the technology with which sensor data can be made available in the Cloud. Using practical data from various implements and tractors, Beijer Automotive will examine, among other things, whether and to what extent current automotive technologies can also be used in this market to make relevant data available for applications in precision agriculture.


This project takes place within the framework of the subsidy scheme for SME innovation stimulation Top Sectors South Netherlands 2015 (MIT South), co-financed by the province of Noord-Brabant.