Proposal of a local telemetry network for the monitoring the thermodynamic and environmental performances of farm tractors

Abstract

The TRAKTnet.one project aims to identify and develop new solutions to remotely monitor the efficiency of farm-tractors engines included in a local voluntary network. The knowledge of tractors’ efficiency can give important information concerning machines’ consumption, emissions and need for servicing, thus contributing to a more environmentally-sustainable agriculture. Engines will be monitored by measuring rpms, exhaust gas temperature and oxygen content (through lambda sensors) and then analysing and inferring the data through procedures, which algorithms will be an integral part of the project’s results. Trials will be performed on different engines and at different speeds/loads. The choice of the thermocouple type and installation point must be done carefully for not influencing sensitivity and response time. The final outcome of the project is expected to be an automatic system, based on an inference software-engine able to correctly interpreting the sensors outputs. The advantage of this proposal is to exploit a farm monitoring network, previously designed for managing the information related to the automatic compilation of records in the country, by simply equipping data loggers with two additional sensors.