Against the backdrop of a substantial increase in the number of thefts of agricultural vehicles and diesel fuel over the last few months, Case IH has again drawn upon the very latest technical options aimed at protecting agricultural machinery to create the new Case IH AFS Connect System.
AFS Connect is an innovative telematics solution which enables the retrieval of all important machine data at any time via the internet. Farming contractors and farmers therefore have access to all machine data from their fleet, most importantly while they are in active service.
Motion sensor sends e-mail
In addition, AFS Connect 2.0 provides some innovative safety functions. For example, a motion sensor provides information by e-mail whenever a tractor or combine harvester is not operational but is still in motion. Practical experience demonstrates that these kinds of farm machinery are often stolen with the help of low-loaders. The AFS Connect Motion Detection feature provides breadcrumbs of the vehicle movements after the first detection refreshing the position every 5 minutes in case of position change after the first alarm.
Another sensor monitors the tank fill level. As soon as the volume of diesel drops by more than five percent, an alarm message is sent out automatically.
EU-wide protection
To obtain greater operational safety, the AFS Connect protection also functions when the tractor battery has been disconnected. The system has its own power supply and this makes it possible to track the position of the machine for several hours. With a roaming-independent data link, the owner can obtain position reports even from across national borders without facing the issue of extra charges due to roaming.
Electronic exclusion zone
Furthermore, users can also define exclusion times or zones during which the machine must be stationary. If the machine is moved during these exclusion times and zones, an e-mail alarm is sent out. With the Geo-Fence function, zones can be predefined and warning messages are issued whenever machines reach or leave these zones.
Simple retrofit
Currently, Case IH dealers are offering special campaign prices for the upgrade of Case IH AFS systems with a telemetry function. All AFS systems can be retrofitted with a telemetry modem. AFS Connect can be installed also on legacy equipment and not CASE IH units to provide basic services like Motion Detection and Geofencing
Modern fleet management
In addition, AFS Connect offers a range of telemetry data that can help to optimise processes such as harvesting chains and to make these machines operate more efficiently.
The AFS Connect telematics system records, processes and transmits machine data continuously to a dedicated web portal. These data can be called up via the internet either by computer or by mobile internet devices such as smartphones or tablet PCs. This gives farmers and agricultural contractors access to all the most important machine data at all times. With the AFS Connect telematics system, maintenance work can also be planned better than before, e.g. alarms can be issued whenever maintenance intervals have expired.
The AFS dashboard provides graphic display, recording and analysis of important vehicle parameters, for example engine speed, temperature and hydraulic fluid pressure, fuel level and battery voltage, etc. Optionally, a vast array of different reports can be called up such as the surface area being worked on, average yields in the case of harvesting machines, flow rate and humidity, as well as weight and a fuel report.
