CONNECTIVITY
machine utilisation on-board and
just send that,” Rio explains. This
relies on a multi-layered electronic
architecture. “The control and
guidance layer which runs the
machine must be undisturbed and
firewalled, but we overlay an
optimised electronic architecture
with high-speed Ethernet
capabilities. It streams data to the
machine’s network manager, or
central nervous system. That’s
tethered to a radio and runs
customer-tailored apps where preprocessing
happens.”
Agricultural prognostics
John Deere telematics rely on a
common component: the JDLink
Controller. “It’s essentially a complex
mobile phone, a processor with
SIM-card paid for by us,” says John
Deere precision agriculture product
specialist, Jack Howard. “It plugs in,
pulls information from machine
controllers and communicates over
a cellular network. We see that
connected hardware as the conduit
to next-level connectivity, driverless
and remote-control machines.” Built
on the JDLink platform, John
Deere’s Connected Solutions
illustrates the current science of
collaborative and prognostic
telematics for agriculture.
Remote Display Access allows
farmers to remotely view the cab
display from compatible machines.
“Anybody can live-view the
operator’s screen, suggest settings or
provide advice and consultancy,” says
Howard. Service Advisor Remote
enables remote diagnostics, allowing
engineers to optimise uptime.
“Service departments can remotely
dial into a machine and pull out
diagnostic codes and controller
34 iVTInternational.com February 2020
TELESCOPIC DATA-HANDLING
Manitou Group committed to factory-fit
telematic connectivity as standard on all
machines from 2019. The French
material-handling OEM built 17,000
connected machines in 2019 and is
evolving Manitou Connected Machine
solutions focused on reducing downtime
and total cost of ownership (TCO).
“We provide real-time machine status
and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs),”
says Manitou telematic solutions
deployment manager, Camille Saliot.
“We track machine location and
operating hours and collect CAN
information from advanced sensors to
facilitate diagnostics.”
Value-added data is provided via two
tools, accessible via the web or an app.
Easy Manager is fleet-focused for dealers
and rental, whereas MyManitou supports
end-users in day-to-day operations and
creates closer dealer relationships.
“When a fault occurs, the dealer sees
it remotely,” says Saliot. “Technicians
know the machine’s real-time location
and what parts to take. They can
prioritise critical visits, send damage
reports and adapt their work-flow to
real-time constraints.” Analysis of
historic and contextual data also informs
customer advice. “Telematics tells us
the issue and the environment around it.
Based on these situations, we can advise
customers to stop the machine, call a
dealer or fix it themselves.”
Data presentation is increasingly
personalised. “We display accurate,
necessary data in a highly customized
way, answering individual needs and
constraints,” Saliot continues. “Our
data-analytics team supports end-users
worldwide in improving economy and
efficiency.” Manitou’s Reduce programme
uses connected machine data to
calculate how customers can reduce fuel
consumption, risk and TCO and purchase
machines best-matched to their objectives.
Manitou also consolidates data into
APIs available to operators running
multicoloured fleets. “Manitou’s
objective is to prepare the information,
which customers pull from our servers
and ingest into their own systems,” says
Saliot. “Instead of multiple OEM portals,
they manage their fleet through a single
interface.” Manitou is also collaborating
with partners including Farm365 on
protocols for cross-branded machines to
share information via FMS platforms in a
future of smart, automated farms.
information, then push back
software fixes,” he says. “Technicians
know what parts they need before
visiting a machine. That enables a fix
in one hit, limiting repairs to one
visit or period of downtime.”
Expert Alerts is extending
knowledge of diagnostic cause-andeffect
by applying artificial
intelligence to telematic data. “It’s
essentially a brain, a server with
algorithms that predict failures
before they occur, based on trends
from a historic downtime database,”
says Howard. “When a machine
shows symptoms of a pre-failure
condition, it generates an Expert
Alert for engineers to verify.”
Rapidly computing vast datasets
and spotting patterns obscure to
human comprehension can reveal
new and unsuspected clues to illhealth.
“In a handful of machines, it
observed a decimal-place rise in
engine temperature a few days
before a failure,” Howard continues.
“We immediately pushed out a
software rewrite, which fixed the
problem. Recognising recurrent data
patterns linked to past downtime
ABOVE: Manitou’s MRT
2470 rotating telehandler
is just one of the many
thousands of connected
vehicles in the OEM’s
range. Manitou also
enables telematics with
cross-brand compatibility
“WE SEE CONNECTED
HARDWARE AS THE
CONDUIT TO NEXTLEVEL
CONNECTIVITY,
DRIVERLESS AND
REMOTE-CONTROL
MACHINES”
Jack Howard, precision agriculture product
specialist, John Deere
/iVTInternational.com