This article aims to present some details about Internet of Things technologies, the use of low-orbit satellites and presentation of the practical use of these technologies. When we think about agricultural technology, some challenges are implicit: providing data communication in a country with continental dimensions, interconnecting different manufacturers' technologies, operating in regions even without electricity.

As for communication, we currently have machines and implements with various technological solutions, but their data cannot be correctly processed or transformed into intelligence. The main limitation is the reading of this data in real time. We have been anxious for years about a long-awaited solution, the “connected field”, effectively functional and available as an easily accessible product.

It would be 4G, now we are delighted with 5G, but we still do not have an effective and financially viable solution being offered by telephone concessionaires to provide the field with efficient communications. After years of being hostage to these scenarios, technology emerges that presents a much more favorable scenario. The deployment of new satellites that are smaller in size, lower in cost and easier to transport is revolutionizing communication: low orbit satellites, among which the best known commercially is the Starlink project.

It is a project that has developed its own constellation and is commercially sold in much of the world, has an attractive cost-benefit ratio, and can be used in conjunction with other communications solutions, Wi-Fi and Lora Wan. The market is developing, and we will soon have other solutions, including OneWeb, which is an operator controlled by the British government and the Barthi Global group, from India. An evolution has already been developed by Starlink and is called “Direct to cell”, a technology that will provide specific cell phones with real-time communication directly connected to the satellite. With current solutions, it is clear that we now have commercial options available for communicating in remote areas.

Now let's dive into the issues of data readings. For this, some technical issues are prerequisites, such as standardization, which is extremely important. Regardless of the supplier system or product, the data must be treated in the same way. Standardization is not yet a reality in the sector. The ISO 11783 standard, better known as ISOBUS, specifies the communication standard for agricultural machinery communication. It was started in 1991 and made official in 2007.

The Controller Area Network protocol is a message - based protocol designed to allow electronic control units (ECUs) found in agricultural machinery to record operational variables. Both aim to define a record standard, making communication and interaction possible in a reliable and assertive manner. One example is the evolution of the internet. In 1983, we already had the internet in some colleges and campuses, and each of them used a different communication protocol. This made communication between distant and different networks unfeasible.

A crucial decision was made: a global communication standard was defined, today known as the TCP IP Protocol, or simply “internet protocol”. From then on, hardware was developed in different countries from different brands, but with a single form of interrelationship. Recently, information exchange standards such as XML and APIs have emerged, which focus on standardizing the exchange of information between different systems. There is the solution to our second point: we can use APIs to define data standards, for storage and exchange between technologies.

Some manufacturers have already recognized these limitations and created data availability via APIs as a service, which adds value to the product and the consumer. Let's talk now about the Internet of Things. For users, it is understood as a single solution, but in fact it is a set of solutions that comprise sensors, communication networks and historians. The functionality of the sensor is to capture data from a variable or even its behavior. Communication, in turn, can be a merge of technologies, short, medium and long distance networks, such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and LoRaWan.

To complete the solution, it is necessary to record all captured information, using the standard MQTT protocol, which, in most cases, is used as a service contracted by specific cloud providers. Therefore, it is a solution capable of recording and transmitting information in real time over great distances and from the most diverse sources with the support of APIs. Citing some examples, soil sensors, capturing temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, ultrasonic sensors to check soil composition.

The main power of the internet of things is in bringing together all this information and forming a network so that parameterized readings can generate real-time analyzes from different sources in agriculture. The natural evolution of sensors has led to a new concept, and communication between machines emerges, in addition to sensors, telemetry and systems, and this includes intelligent action, without the need for human intervention.

We currently have irrigation pivots in use that are capable of dosing a product based on image analysis that an artificial bait identified and classified the insect, as well as the treatment. Another example, a sugarcane harvester identifying a mechanical failure with a certain error code, for example, oil filter, automatically purchases the item, as it verified that the item was not in stock, checked the purchase contract parameterized in the ERP and sent the order to the supplier.

All of this connecting with satellite antennas, working effectively as a single network in real time, providing information and receiving commands in a cycle that feeds back to automatically optimize decisions. Therefore, we have a gigantic database, standardized and available data, a network for real-time communication, and systems that can define any rule for decision making. And why aren't we evolving faster? Current systems are able to make decisions without human intervention. Returning to the example above, when I present the solution of a machine making an acquisition, I am immediately questioned, but will no one approve the request? Wouldn’t it be better to include a “condition” following the approver’s logic in the system?

We are discussing quantum computing systems, while our processes follow binary logic, without anyone approving, “Stop!”. We already have technologies available; It is necessary to review processes, rethink how we can optimize and reduce costs. We therefore have a technological trend that will generate opportunities. Transformations must occur in top management. By reimagining your business that is now based on new scenarios, we can test the new at very attractive costs, validate the hypotheses and implement what we effectively validate with effective results. Let us be prepared to create, reinvent and rethink. This is the challenge for all of us in the sector.