Thanks to telematics technology, U.S. farmers now have the option to collect and manage information from their field equipment. Modern telematics-based management systems can record data from farm equipment operating in a field, and then transfers the data to the Internet in real-time. Users can access the real-time tracking data from anywhere on the internet – from an office computer, cell phone, or a laptop. Today, most agricultural equipment companies like John Deere are in the process of developing telematics systems.
Telematics devices can help can help businesses to improve customer service, productivity and safety while reducing fuel costs, labor costs, greenhouse gas emissions and vehicle/equipment maintenance. Telematics also has the potential to increase farm equipment operating efficiencies.
For example, the equipment operator and farm manager could automatically receive alerts when planters, sprayers, combines and other machines are operating outside predetermined parameters aka geo-fence. It will also help agricultural consultants to troubleshoot problems remotely and offer guidance to resolve technical issues without interrupting fieldwork or making trips to the field. With the increased use of computer electronics in tractors and other farm equipment, the remote diagnostics and direct technical assistance from the manufacturers’ technical personnel is increasingly attractive to farm equipment operators.
The success of telematics-based vehicle tracking systems have paved the road for advancements in optimizing farm operations. Modern GPS vehicle tracking systems provide much, much more than just location data. Telematics system features can include real-time vehicle tracking, driver performance monitoring, route optimization utilizing real-time traffic reports, remote diagnostics of vehicle components such as the engine (to determine maintenance needs and report problems before they become critical), and vehicle emissions reporting.
Telematics-based systems are currently used by thousands of companies around the world for vehicle tracking. Telematics-based vehicle tracking systems add a lot of value to a business and provide ROI in less than 6 months, which is why they have become so popular.
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