A system for Automatic Process Data Acquisition in outdoor operations with tractor- implement combinations has been developed at the Bavarian Research Center for Agricultural Engineering of the Technical University of Munich during the past few years. This system is based on the components LBS, GPS and IMI®. In autumn 2000, the first real data acquisitions took place under field conditions. The aim of the work in hand was to develop an automatic evaluation program for these data. For this purpose a SQL-based database system (Microsoft Access®) was chosen. The evaluation program that has been developed is called IMIlyzer. Before the actual programming work could start a suitable structure for the presentation of the results had to be found because of the manifold possibilities of evaluations. A splitting of results in time-way-, material- and machinery-related values has been realized. Furthermore an evaluation from different looks like specific tasks, working procedures, machines or fields takes place.
All acquired data are saved into the central table of IMIlyzer-database. Starting from this table, data are accumulated by queries which are specific for each kind of evaluation. The main areas of the developing work were to program those queries with SQL and to create an interface easy to use for program-controlling. A first look at the results of the evaluation showed a good comparability and possible assessment of fields by various accumulated values, relating to time and machinery efforts during tillage. Georeferenced maps (not available in IMIlyzer, yet) of traction power and working speed during tillage make a relative assessment of condition and type of soil in different sites of one field possible. These maps can also be integrated into conceptions of site specific farming in a Precision Farming System.
The following points summarize the considerations of the work in hand:
- A dynamic system of characteristic indices of outdoor work can be installed by continuous data acquisition on a representative number of farms.
- The complete documentation of all internal operations is the base of the so-called traceability of agricultural products. It is necessary for installing a system of environment-related subsidization by the EU and for bringing back consumers` trust in farm production.
- The ownership-related settlement of accounts for work, material and yield will be based on the Automatic Process Data Acquisition System in a so called Trans-Border Farming System. - Saving all acquired data in a database is a prerequisite for the calculation of representative characteristics of outdoor work and for further scientific studies. The huge amount of data requires coordination and sufficient hardware resources.
- The practicable way for documentation on private farms is not to save each single data-line but only the results of an operation.
- In future, computing the data cannot be realized in Access® any longer, but a more efficient SQL-based database system has to be chosen.
- Graphics and graphical user interfaces should be used for presenting the results. This point is partly implemented in IMIlyzer, but these graphical functions are Access ®-specific. After transferring the evaluation-queries to another SQL-database system like DB2, appropriate applications will have to be created.
- The Automatic Data Acquisition only makes sense if the following data evaluation also proceeds automatically. The evaluation program IMIlyzer shows a possible way for this process.
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A system for Automatic Process Data Acquisition in outdoor operations with tractor- implement combinations has been developed at the Bavarian Research Center for Agricultural Engineering of the Technical University of Munich during the past few years. This system is based on the components LBS, GPS and IMI®. In autumn 2000, the first real data acquisitions took place under field conditions. The aim of the work in hand was to develop an automatic evaluation program for these data. For this purpos...
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