Software engineers from different ag equipment companies put competition aside and came together under one roof to test the cross-brand interoperability of their products.  

It’s called Plugfest. Hosted by the Agricultural Industry Electronics Foundation, the 3-day event in downtown Milwaukee is like speed dating for tractors and implements to see if they’re compatible in mixed fleets. AEF is working on a new High Speed ISOBUS (HSI) system that’s roughly 4,000 times faster than the current ISOBUS technology. This could pave the way for real-time data, high-definition cameras, complex sensors, autonomous control and more. 

“We want higher levels of automation. We want to move towards autonomous systems because we just don’t have enough operators to keep things going. This is one of the significant paths that’ll help with both of those. First, that higher performance. And today, a high-speed planter, somewhere around 10-12 mph, is a pretty rough ride, unless you have a fantastic suspension. But if the operator wasn’t there, could it go 15-18 mph and achieve equal or even better performance with HSI? We’ll see. I think we’ll find out in the coming years.” 

David says the goal is to have HSI 1.0 ready by 2028.

Watch the full Video of this episode of Conservation Ag Update.