Development and application of an agricultural BUS for data transfer

Sound and sustainable agriculture without electronics is inconceivable toda y, as electronic systems are used to reduce farm inputs, protect the enviro nment, secure farm income and produce high quality products. This paper exp lains the needs and the gears of a standardized agricultural binary unit sy stem (BUS). Such a BUS is mandatory for efficient use of electronics in agr iculture to guarantee unimpeded data and information transfer between agric ultural systems from different manufacturers such as tractors, implements a nd farm computers. The development and its application resulting in a stand ard are presented, as well as first practical experiences. Products which f ollow this standard are highly sophisticated hardware and software systems. To assure the farmer that the system he buys meets the standard and to hel p the industry to develop such systems a test system has been developed. Th e practical effectiveness of this system has already been proved. The inter national standard ISO 11783, currently in preparation, has the goal of esta blishing such an agricultural BUS. The experience and results gained throug h the established German standard DIN 9684 could assist in the quickest pos sible realization of the ISO goals. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All righ ts reserved.