ISOBUS for Trailed Sprayers – Implementation and Experience

27th Members’ Meeting of the Club of Bologna

Agricultural mechanization: present meets future!12-13 November 2017

Hannover, Germany

Willy Peeters – PeetersWilly@JohnDeere.com

27th Members’ Meeting of the Club of BolognaHannover, November 12-13, 2017

Content• Introduction• History• Development, initial challenges• Development, implementation challenges• Plugfest and certification• Current status• Outlook in the future• Summary

27th Members’ Meeting of the Club of BolognaHannover, November 13-13, 2017

Introduction• ISOBUS development start in 2005

• Generic solution• Multi brand market

• Differentiation• Green-to-Green• 125 competitors in the region

27th Members’ Meeting of the Club of BolognaHannover, November 13-13, 2017

History• Founded in 1947, Machine Fabriek Gebr. Douven BV.

• Large, diverse portfolio• Orchard sprayers• Mounted sprayers• Trailed sprayers• High pressure cleaners• Pumps

27th Members’ Meeting of the Club of BolognaHannover, November 13-13, 2017

1928

• Theike Douven starts contracting and crop protection in Horst (Netherlands)

1947

• Machine Fabriek “Douven” officially founded• Deere & Company ’s signed a agreement to take

over “Des Moines Ordnance Plant” from “War Assets Administration

1997

• Deere & Company invests in European factory for sprayers

2000

• Deere & Company produces first JD designed sprayer in European factory for sprayers

2012

• Deere & Company 175 years, with 65 years of experience in manufacturing high quality crop sprayers

History

27th Members’ Meeting of the Club of BolognaHannover, November 13-13, 2017

History• Acquired by John Deere November 1997

• Small team• Industry components used• Off-shelf controls

• First John Deere developed trailed sprayer introduced in 2000, 800-serie• New electronics, Greenstar 4 system and traditional• Generic John Deere

27th Members’ Meeting of the Club of BolognaHannover, November 13-13, 2017

History• Decision to go for full ISOBUS

• Virtual terminal• TaskController• Green-on-Green on top of ISOBUS

27th Members’ Meeting of the Club of BolognaHannover, November 13-13, 2017

Development, initial challenges• No specifications

• No ownership of the software• Development start with a 4 page document

• Rate control (base for a sprayer)• Hydraulic control (boom control)• TwinFluid (air assist nozzles)

• Limited experience within John Deere with implements• Knowledge and expertise on self-propelled

equipment in the US• Proprietary protocol

• External partner selected• Working for the Baler group (Arc le Gray, FR)• Working for tractors (Mannheim, GER)

27th Members’ Meeting of the Club of BolognaHannover, November 13-13, 2017

Development, initial challenges• Hardware selection

• Re-use existing hardware• More outputs needed than available (need 80)• Additional hardware with only outputs, max 6

27th Members’ Meeting of the Club of BolognaHannover, November 13-13, 2017

Development, initial challenges• Software, main operating system

• John Deere Operating System (JDOS)• Experience at partner• Joined efforts/experience from working for Balers

• Application software• Detail specification not available• No software experts in Horst

• Application experts on machine operation and usage in Horst

• Spec development on the go

27th Members’ Meeting of the Club of BolognaHannover, November 13-13, 2017

Development, implementation challenges• Software, main operating system (JDOS)

• Scaling for the User Interface• Development for 480x480 but required to support also

others eg 272x272• Mapping of proprietary colors• Limited TaskController support for implements

27th Members’ Meeting of the Club of BolognaHannover, November 13-13, 2017

Development, implementation challenges• User Interface (UI)

• John Deere Tool used• Creation of the Object Pool• Ensure alignment with US sprayers• Many sprayer variants

• Complex handling of the UI• Ensure compliance with the standard

• No VT+ features• Deere VT is friendly” for Deere equipment

27th Members’ Meeting of the Club of BolognaHannover, November 13-13, 2017

Development, implementation challenges• Taskcontroller

• Section Control and Documentation• Sprayer first implement to use JDOS

and TaskController• Many hours of testing• Close cooperation with JDOS development group,

Intelligent Solution group• Hardware limitation found

• TaskController commands every 20 msec of faster• Used ball valves need 750 msec

• Mechanical/electrical issues

27th Members’ Meeting of the Club of BolognaHannover, November 13-13, 2017

Development, implementation challenges• Languages

• Many languages required, 14 start, today 22• Non Latin languages

• Avoid text but not always possible• Memory limitations on hardware• Load languages to the system

• ISOBUS file server not ready• Deere version implemented

• Deere to Deere only• Issue with non-Deere equipment

• Integration into Deere Service Advisor• Allows text update without software change

• Issues with multiple displays on tractors

27th Members’ Meeting of the Club of BolognaHannover, November 13-13, 2017

Plugfest and Certification• Target to be (DLG/AEF) certified

• Best insurance multi brand equipment work together as intended

• No 100% guarantee !!• 2007 DLG certification achieved

• First John Deere implement• Every software change requires re-certification

27th Members’ Meeting of the Club of BolognaHannover, November 13-13, 2017

Plugfest and Certification• Plugfest for validation

• Multi brand equipment connecting together• Engineering driven event

• Strong drive to solve issues together

27th Members’ Meeting of the Club of BolognaHannover, November 13-13, 2017

Current status• Architecture change

• New hardware• Software re-use• Languages fixed installed

27th Members’ Meeting of the Club of BolognaHannover, November 13-13, 2017

Current status• AEF certified in 2015

• First John Deere implement • UT1.0• UT1.0 / TC-BAS / TC-SC in 2017

• Currently working on ISOBUS AUX-N• Operating device per ISOBUS AUX-N standard• Challenge: sprayer needs much more functions then

devices make available

27th Members’ Meeting of the Club of BolognaHannover, November 13-13, 2017

Current status• Challenges for future certification

• No legacy components allowed after 1st Jan 2018• Ground isolation challenge

• Non-ISOBUS sprayers also use ISOBUS communication• Allow section control• Not using ISOBUS connector (cost)

• Power limitations• Allows display strategy

• VT only – Section Control – All options

27th Members’ Meeting of the Club of BolognaHannover, November 13-13, 2017

Outlook to the future

TC

Lighting

Server

VTAux

GPS

Diag

Tractor Bus Transmission

HitchSCVsEngine

Tractor ECU

Sensor

Drawbar Injection Pump

Implement Sub-Net

TerminationAF

Implement ECU

IBBC IBBC

Implement Bus

27th Members’ Meeting of the Club of BolognaHannover, November 13-13, 2017

Outlook to the future• Limits due to bus speed

• Need for high speed ISOBUS• Max baudrate 250 bps today• Support for camera systems• Individual nozzle control• Variable rate per nozzle• Direct Injection• Sensors on the sprayer

• New hardware required in the future with new operating system• ISOBUS implementation in new Operating System

• New ISOBUS applications like TIA/TIM

27th Members’ Meeting of the Club of BolognaHannover, November 13-13, 2017

Summary

ISOBUS for trailed sprayers was/is an interesting and important journey that was possible because of very good cooperation between different John Deere units and our external partner and allowed to develop a connectivity to both Deere and non-Deere equipment but still allowing specific features within/on top of ISOBUS.

27th Members’ Meeting of the Club of BolognaHannover, November 13-13, 2017

Thank you very much for your attention