The latest in smart farming from CES 2019
From water sensors that automate irrigation to drones that monitor livestock, smart technology has already had a significant impact on the agricultural industry. At this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, vendors showed us just how smart farming can get by showcasing new devices, machines, and vehicles that merge farming with internet technology.
Our representatives Chandler Blake and Tanner Wentworth travelled to Las Vegas attended CES 2019 to learn more about innovations that will change the way people live and work in rural America. “The event is a must see to anyone who is looking to get a sneak peek look at all of the latest and greatest technology before it’s released to the public,” says Wentworth.
Here are a few of the standout smart farming devices from the John Deere booth at CES 2019:
Smart farming on a new scale
- John Deere, participating in its first CES, showcased a smart combine harvester that uses sensors to improve efficiency and reduce waste during harvest. “Not only is this machine harvesting the grain, it’s harvesting the data, which helps farmers make decisions for next year,” says marketing executive Deanna Kovar.
- Similarly, John Deere’s self-driving tractor uses a GPS system to estimate its location to the nearest inch, which is a far more accurate estimate than those given by current GPS systems. Like the smart combine, the tractor is fitted with sensors that gather data on weather and soil conditions from different parts of your land.
New wireless protocols for farming applications
From the beginning, the short signal range of wireless protocols like Wi-Fi have been an issue for farmers who want to use smart farming devices, like water and soil sensors, in their operations. At the most, Wi-Fi networks only have a signal range of about 150 feet, which means the Wi-Fi protocol isn’t a practical solution for internet-connected farm devices.
At CES 2019, Blake and Wentworth explored new long-range protocols that are more practical for farming applications. The LoRa protocol, for example, enables highly efficient communication between the gateway and devices that are, potentially, more than 10 miles away. Farmers can use the LoRa protocol to track livestock or to manage irrigation, which isn’t possible with WiFi.
“The next big development is the range of these new smart devices. The new generation of smart devices are able to communicate with each other and pass messages along to the main gateway, instead of having to send messages directly,” Blake continues. “This means you can place sensors and smart devices just about anywhere in or around your home, instead of being limited by the range the gateway has.”
Smart farming is already here
Here at EvdoDepotUSA, we’re dedicated to supplying the best internet-connected products for smart farming and ensuring the wireless protocols of these products fulfill the unique needs of our rural customers. In the coming year, you’ll see smart farming sensors, like those our representatives saw at CES 2019, pop up in our online store.
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