Sensor-Technik Wiedemann (STW) and m2Xpert announced their collaboration at Agritechnica 2015 in Hannover. The aim is the seamless integration of data from mobile machines, in particular from the field of agricultural technology, into the overall processes which are covered through the appropriate server architectures and applications.
During the collaboration, the roles are clearly distributed. STW is responsible for tasks concerning data collection and pre-processing, as well as for the communication to and between mobile machines. Whilst the control units and sensors on agricultural machines are organized through the ESX family components, the CONNEX data management and telemetry modules ensure communication to the servers and applications of m2Xpert. The on-board module CONNEX-m2X was exhibited at Agritechnica in Hall 15, booth F53.
At the adjacent booth 15G48, m2Xpert displayed its solution m2Xchange in an agricultural process environment. The platform m2Xchange and the applications for the agricultural field are provided under the name “Farmtune.” The biggest challenge consists of the integration of devices and machines made by different manufacturers. This is primarily achieved through the porting of the mobile m2XChange agents on the on-board modules – such as, in this case, the CONNEX-m2X. The mobile agent deals with communications with the server counterpart.
“Our specialty is the provision of a platform and services for the collection and preparation of data from mobile working processes. At the same time, we provide interfaces to further applications which are typical for the agricultural environment,” explains Dr. Hans-Peter Grothaus, Managing Director of m2Xpert. "We are focusing on the collaboration with STW, as here we have ourselves obtained a competent partner for system solutions on agricultural machines. Also, the CONNEX-m2X was a highly suitable platform for the porting of our m2Xchange agents.”
Dr. Michael P. Schmitt, Managing Director of STW, made reference to the systems by STW which have been repeatedly tried and tested in practical applications: “Our on-board modules were designed especially for rough ambient conditions. In particular the CONNEX platforms are ideal for the m2Xchange Client due to their open Linux environment. In addition, we offer four CAN interfaces for the communication with control units, 2G/3G support for data exchange with the m2Xchange server, WLAN and Bluetooth, with which Tablets or Smartphones can also be integrated for direct communication without having to go via the Internet. In this way we fit perfectly into the m2Xchange world, which on the other hand perfectly fulfills the requirements of our clients after the integration into their process landscape.”
