​The revolution of smart tractors

I have been following the development of Brazilian agriculture for more than 20 years and have seen how mechanisation has spread in rural areas. But this is just the beginning of a major digital transformation in agribusiness. A revolution that will come from the partnership between machine manufacturers and developers of complete technology solutions.

IIncreasingly indispensable, agricultural machinery will also become increasingly technological. Equipped with onboard controllers, they are already capable of making field routines more accurate and efficient, significantly increasing productivity. At Hexagon, we develop embedded technologies for tractor and implement manufacturers, with the goal of transforming them into true technological tools for agricultural efficiency. After all, this is our mission as a company, to prepare the agricultural industry for greater productivity.

ITo provide the best technology to our customers, we invest up to 12% of our net sales in Research and Development, enhancing a global portfolio of technologies. The result for the manufacturers (our customers and partners) is complete and customisable solutions that increase the sales potential of their machines and, consequently, bring results to the agricultural producer. To ensure peace of mind for our customers, we promote technical and commercial team training and maintain advanced technical assistance centres combined with a unique system for remote support, diagnosis and adjustment of connected equipment.

ISmart tractors equipped with Hexagon can, for example, control the quantity of seeds placed on the ground and monitor the application of fertilisers with high precision. In addition, functions such as Auto Steering allow the tractor operator to obtain greater speed, practicality and quality while working, always maintaining the desired route with precision, comfort and safety. As such, it is possible to add value to the tractor or, in the case of corporate farms, the fleet of agricultural machinery, reaching the maximum potential of the field.

IA major trend in the OEM market is to bring intelligence and technological innovation to the cutting edge, always with the ultimate goal of reducing costs and increasing producer profitability. As a result, onboard controllers are no longer simply data collectors and actively intervene with the farm's processes. At Hexagon, we work so that the collected data is just the starting point, the raw material for a series of intelligent solutions implemented in the machine itself. With techniques such as machine learning, best practices can be learned by the systems, enabling the identification of operating profiles, the recommendation of adjustments, parameters and synchronisation of the machine with other equipment and processes. This is how we put our vision of supporting rural entrepreneurs into practice in order to carry out intelligent digital transformation in the field.