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Indeed. I stopped reading when I got to that line. Modern tractors are industrial production machines valued according to their output, and designed as such. Th
by oneJob 11y ago
Indeed. I stopped reading when I got to that line. Modern tractors are industrial production machines valued according to their output, and designed as such. These things are indeed complex, expensive, wonders of technology. Not only that, they are no longer simply tractors, they are now parts of systems.
- emcrazyone 11y agocorrect, I'm presently doing work for one of the largest tractor manufacturers developing software for them. There are all kinds of technology in these things as well as on the farm itself in the form of GPS correction (called RTK) to deal with auto guidance and improving GPS accuracy. We are also building mesh networks so a tractor and a combine can be driven by one person & having the combine follow the tractor in side-by-side fashion. I work on over the air software updates, some of the touch screens are essentially custom computers running Android. We have a number of on board modules handling steering and precision farming as it's called in the industry. All these modules are interconnected with a mix of technology (CAN, TCP/IP over Broad-R-Reach, LIN, WiFi, and GPS). Check out ISOBUS too... ISOBUS is a technology where any tractor can be connected to any tow behind implement, including 3rd party, and that implement's GUI is shown on a touch panel for the operator to control and program. In short, there's a lot there. And it's a very competitive market.
- oneJob 11y agoWould love your take on the open-sourxe/proprietary issue, especially as it affects the farmers ability to fix or improve their own equipment, legally.
- wonkaWonka 11y agoI stopped reading when I got to the part where you said you stopped reading.