HARVEY manufacturer Roesner Pty Ltd has stepped up its involvement in so-called precision ag.
Torque caught up with company technical director Matt Roesner last week, who revealed the company's latest products, essentially apps, are to be marketed under the i4M brand.
The products, spawned from its Precision Agronomics Australia (PAA) division, already have captured the attention of several major overseas manufacturers and a distribution agreement already has been signed with a United Kingdom company.
Roesner acquired PAA in March 2018 from Esperance agronomist Quenten Knight, and is initially focused on the Australian market and expanding to become an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) for major brands.
According to Matt, the reason for restructuring PAA was to develop more cost efficient solutions for variable rate product applications that were easier to use.
"The apps are suited to most popular makes of controllers with no unlock codes," he said.
"All you need to ensure is your tractor has good hydraulic flow capacity.
"Agronomists have been the main driver for i4M because it is so easy to generate a prescription map from our server to the client in a matter of minutes.
"We believe the i4M range has huge world-wide potential and PAA wants to become a trusted provider of ag controller solutions because we've seen first-hand the frustrations of our customers for more than 20 years now.
"The frustrations basically come from trying to fix precision ag systems and that has been our real driver to come up with solutions that are reliable and easy to operate."
Four apps are now on the market:
p The i4M Spreader Controller app allows farmers to carry out variable rate fertiliser prescription plans using a belt-type spreader.
The system consists of a tablet computer running the i4M app that connects to an electronics module through a Wi-Fi network.
The electronics module is attached to an actuator, drive and sensor network fitted to the spreader and in operation, the app determines the required application rate from the prescription map, adjusting the conveyor belt speed to set and maintain the fertiliser rate.
Prescription map files are transferred to the tablet via a i4M cloud server.
The user simply places the prescription map files onto a web page, adding metadata such as paddock name and selecting the required map layer.
The cloud server processes the map and makes it available for download on the tablet.
Connecting load cells to the i4M controller, allows precise control of application rates with fertiliser calibration factors fine-tuned to within one per cent of the target rate.
p The i4M RS232 Controller app allows farmers to carry out variable rate prescription plans without expensive upgrades to existing third controllers.
The system consists of a tablet running the i4M RS232 control app that connects to an electronics module over Wi-Fi.
The electronics module attaches to the serial port in the back of the third party implement controller and the i4M app determines the required application rate from the prescription map sending a rate instruction to the third party controller.
Prescription map files are transferred to the tablet in the same way as the spreader controller app.
p The i4M Chaser Bin monitor, enables farmers to collect data from load cells fitted to chaser and field bins.
The system consists of a tablet running the i4M chaser bin app that connects to an electronics module over wifi.
The electronics module reads the load cell output and records weight when the bin is unloaded.
Multiple bin loads are added to an accumulated field weight, which is stored locally on the tablet or uploaded to the i4M server for record keeping and analysis.
The chaser bin app includes a simple to use calibration routine to ensure the accuracy of the weight readings and a diagnostic page for checking the output from each load cell.
The i4M Web Server is an online GIS tool that handles prescription maps and operation data for use with the various i4M control system apps.
After creating a free account, the user uploads prescription map data to the server using a web browser where it is converted and transferred via 3/4G network to the relevant i4M controller app.
The i4M web server can also communicate with third party agronomy platforms for the transfer of map and operational data.
Nothing like a WA manufacturer.
More information: Roesner on 1800 651 288.
