Development of a system for monitoring farming tractors consisting of an electronic tracker and a web system that sends messages to mobiles belonged to tractor's managers and its operator when irregularities and excessive downtime are identified

• Grant number: 16/09375-5
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Innovative Research in Small Business - PIPE
• Start date: May 01, 2017
• End date: January 31, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agricultural Engineering - Agricultural Machinery and Implements
• Principal Investigator: Tereza Cristina Peixoto
• Grantee: Tereza Cristina Peixoto
• Company: Farm Solutions - Monitoramento Ltda
• City: Pereiras
• Associated researchers: Samuel Thomazella Gazzola
• Associated scholarship(s): 17/14520-7 - Development of a system for monitoring farming tractors consisting of an electronic tracker and a web system that sends messages to mobiles belonged to tractor's managers and its operator when irregularities and excessive downtime are identified, BP.PIPE

Abstract

The vast majority of Brazilian agricultural tractors is not tracked in real time. Due to this, it is estimated that a significant part of their work to less than 1,000 hours per year. Remember that a tractor working only one 8-hour shift per day 5.5 days a week over 48 weeks of the year - excluding 4 week vacation of your tractor - could reach 2,112 hours of operation. In this case 1,000 hours worked annually represent only 47.4% of utilization efficiency of available hours. At the same time, more and more problems with thefts of tractors and even misconduct in dealing with this equipment, typical of urban areas, are reaching the countryside. Thus, this R&D project will develop a shielded electronic controller for tractor equipped with GPS with minimal positional accuracy of 5 meters and equipped with communication via GSM/GPRS. These electronic controllers will communicate with a web system that will also be developed for this project, able to automatically send messages in SMS format (Short Message Service) for mobile phones of managers of tractors and tractor drivers with respect to:· Tractor use inefficiencies caused by the tractor driver,· Fraud and misappropriation by tractor,· Tractor fuel waste,· Labor liabilities and undue overtime caused by the tractor driver,· Tractor theft,· Unsafe driving tractor,· Tractor maintenance control,· Economic life of the tractor. To validate the effectiveness of the entire system to be developed to increase the work efficiency of the tracked tractors and also its security, they will be installed electronic controllers on tractors that operate in the four most important crops of the São Paulo agribusiness: sugarcane, corn, soybean and orange. Initially, neither tractor drivers and even managers will be informed of the data collected by the controllers. Thus, operating times worked these tractors are known. Later, managers and tractor drivers will automatically receive alerts and notices irregularities and undue downtime on their phones. Thus, it will be known the work rate of these tractors under effect of the new monitoring system. It is expected that there is an increase of at least 10% in the productive time of the tractors from the use of electronic controllers with the routine of sending warnings and alerts to mobile phones. This gain in efficiency may represent a reduction of 4.66% in the low power tractor cost hours, or even more if high and medium power tractor. The target price of the electronic controller will be R$ 900.00 against an average price of R$ 9,233.00 on-board computers for tractors and agricultural machines currently available on the market. With the gain of 10% efficiency in the production of tractors time, it is estimated that the investment in the acquisition of the electronic controller is recovered in less than 5 months. (AU)