Innodisk supports Smart Agriculture with AI-powered solutions

Together with its client, Innodisk developed a mobile computing platform for agricultural production to enhance the functionality of existing machinery. The developed system detects obstacles, provides avoidance options by perceiving the entire environment, and sends alarms. This enables very precise driving, which significantly increases the efficiency of agricultural work. The solution enables the simultaneous monitoring and control of several agricultural machines.

During development, the focus was on the stability and reliability of signal reception. Communication and data accuracy between the devices in the entire embedded system must be guaranteed. Also, a large number of interface conversions are required when implementing an industrial communication network. Further requirements must be met for real-time data transmission of the communicating objects with special functions. It was also necessary to simplify and adapt the different network protocols so that the various end-user applications could communicate with each other.

As a solution, Innodisk developed a CAN bus extension card. It enables communication between automotive protocols of microcontroller units without the need for a host computer. The signal is transmitted to different devices via a single central bus cable and then sent to different vehicles. The expansion card used is also widely used and proven in the automation and embedded system industry.

To withstand harsh environmental conditions such as temperature fluctuations, electromagnetic interference, and unstable power supply, the EMUC-B202-W1 expansion card from Innodisk was used, which ensures a stable CAN bus even under adverse operating conditions. The card is often used in the transport industry for communication and diagnostics between automation systems. The dual-port solution is compatible with ARM architecture and Linux operating systems.

The application requires 2 CAN channels and the IPC itself has no reserved CAN bus interface. The Innodisk card expands the capacity of the mainboard, reducing the development costs of redesigning the mainboard. The IPC motherboard reserves a Mini PCIe interface that is compatible with the Innodisk CAN board and delivers communication performance according to customer requirements. It also provides a complete driver and speeds up the integration of secondary API development.

High-quality, real-time technical support was a priority for the customer during development. It supports a variety of CAN-Bus high-level protocols, such as J1939 and CANopen, which are for different automotive applications. In a Smart Agriculture project, long-term supply is a very important consideration, as there must be no shortage of spare parts or products used in a later phase of the product’s life. Innodisk also had to guarantee this to the customer. In addition, Innodisk has a team of firmware experts and a wide range of product specifications and connectivity interfaces that can be tailored to all onboard application requirements. Innodisk’s deployed CAN bus solution can meet the various vehicle requirements in agriculture and support the different protocols of the CAN modules used.

Innodisk has developed a mobile computer platform for agricultural production together with a customer to extend the functionality of existing machines. The developed system detects obstacles, provides avoidance options by perceiving the entire environment and sends alarms. This enables very precise driving, which significantly increases the efficiency of agricultural work. The solution enables the simultaneous monitoring and control of several agricultural machines. As a solution, Innodisk has developed a CAN bus expansion card. It enables communication between automotive protocols of microcontroller units without the need for a host computer. To withstand harsh environmental conditions such as temperature fluctuations, electromagnetic interference and unstable power supply, the EMUC-B202-W1 expansion card was used to ensure a stable CAN bus even under adverse operating conditions. In a smart agriculture project, long-term supply is a very important consideration, which Innodisk can guarantee.