0. Alex Layton, Purdue University
ISOBlue
An Open Source Project to Bring Agricultural Machinery Data to the Cloud
11/21/2014
Alex Layton, Purdue University

1. Alex Layton, Purdue University
ISOBUS Overview
Communication protocol (ISO 11783) used in agricultural industry
The ISOBUS network is composed of two separate CAN busses
Tractor (Engine) Bus
Implement Bus
The ISOBUS bitrate is 250 kbps (per bus)
ISOBUS data is sent using messages with the above format
The data of a message is identified by its PGN (Parameter Group Number)
To interpret a message’s data, one must have access to the specification of its corresponding Parameter Group
11/21/2014
Alex Layton, Purdue University

2. Alex Layton, Purdue University
ISOBUS Data
A variety of useful data are present on the ISOBUS network of agricultural machinery, e.g.
“As applied” data
Location
Speed
Target application rate
Actual application rate
Yield data
Mass flow rate
Moisture
11/21/2014
Alex Layton, Purdue University

3. Alex Layton, Purdue University
ISOBlue Device
Platform is a BeagleBone Black
Runs Angstrom, a kind of Linux
Connects to the ISOBUS network with a CAN cape which has multiple CAN interfaces
Cape is compatible with SocketCAN
Talks to Android over Bluetooth to forward ISOBUS messages
Uses USB Bluetooth Dongle
CAN Cape
BeagleBone Black
Bluetooth
USB
SPI
11/21/2014
Alex Layton, Purdue University

4. Alex Layton, Purdue University
Cloud
Implement Bus
GPS
Tractor Bus
Engine
Flow sensor
Cell / WiFi
ISOBlue Data Flow
Combine
ISOBUS
ISOBlue Daemon
SocketCAN
ISOBUS Module
ISOBlue Device
Android Device
libISOBlue
3rd Party App
Bluetooth
System Overview
Main Components
ISOBlue Daemon software
libISOBlue Android library
11/21/2014
Alex Layton, Purdue University

5. ISOBlue Daemon Software
Software written to work as a “server” for the Android library
Runs on ISOBlue, waiting for an Android device to connect using libISOBlue
Monitors ISOBUS network with SocketCAN and ISOBUS kernel module
SocketCAN is the de facto standard CAN driver for Linux
The ISOBUS kernel module is an addition to this driver, which runs as part of Linux rather than as an application
Stores received messages in a database
Database used is LevelDB from Google
Its purpose it to efficiently store and retrieve messages on the SD card
Forwards ISOBUS messages from SocketCAN and/or the database to libISOBlue
ISOBUS from combine
ISOBlue Daemon
SocketCAN
ISOBUS Module
Bluetooth to libISOBlue
Data Flow
ISOBlue Device
11/21/2014
Alex Layton, Purdue University

6. libISOBlue Android Library
Cell/WiFi to Cloud
libISOBlue
3rd Party App
Bluetooth from
ISOBlue Device
Data Flow
Custom written in Java, runs on the Android device
Receives ISOBUS messages forwarded by ISOBlue
Talks to ISOBlue over Bluetooth
Tries to automatically reconnect when connection is lost
Presents a simple socket like interface to the app using it
At a basic level a socket is an object which when you read it you are returned a piece of data someone else sent to you since the last time you read the socket
Sockets can be used to read data off either bus of the ISOBUS network
Buffered sockets can be used to read data from before the Android device connected to ISOBlue
Sockets give PGN, SA, DA, data bytes, and timestamp for each message
The library can be used to set filters on which ISOBUS messages ISOBlue receives
Allows choosing which PGNs to receive and on which bus
11/21/2014
Alex Layton, Purdue University

7. Alex Layton, Purdue University
Yield Monitor App
Written by Pat Sabpisal
Receives GNSS and Grain Flow ISOBUS messages using libISOBlue Android library
Uses the received ISOBUS data to generate a yield map and shows it on a Google Map
Updates the yield map in real-time as ISOBUS data is received
11/21/2014
Alex Layton, Purdue University

8. Alex Layton, Purdue University
Logging/Cloud App
Written by myself
Receives all ISOBUS messages using libISOBlue Android library
Displays messages on screen
Logs messages to SQLite database on Android device’s SD card
Uploads messages to cloud (Google Drive)
Image taken from thewildblogger.com
11/21/2014
Alex Layton, Purdue University

9. OADA Compliant ISOBlue
No Android device needed
Uses REST API to upload ISOBUS messages as JSON
Supports SSL and OAUTH 2.0 Tokens
Supports compression to reduce data usage
Works over Wi-Fi
Could work over cell if ISOBlue had it
11/21/2014
Alex Layton, Purdue University

10. Current ISOBlue/OADA Setup
ISOBlue is in Aaron’s combine logging data
Uses a Wi-Fi bridge to connect to Aaron’s iPad (for Internet only)
Data is uploaded to an AWS server
JSON Data is formatted like so (before compression) {
"bus":"0",
"pgn":"0f004",
"dst":"04",
"data":"f17d884c2cc0ffff",
"timestamp": ,
"src":"00“ }
11/21/2014
Alex Layton, Purdue University

11. Alex Layton, Purdue University
Changes to ISOBlue
Software running on ISOBlue modified
Use HTTP rather than Bluetooth
Format data as JSON rather than something I made up
Add data compression
My Android library replaced with OADA
Much of the code on ISOBlue from before was reused
Wi-Fi bridge connected to Ethernet port for Internet connection
Makes no difference to code as long as Linux is connected to Internet
11/21/2014
Alex Layton, Purdue University

12. Alex Layton, Purdue University
Acknowledgements
This work has been sponsored by:
USDA/NIFA Project title: IMPROVING AGRICULTURAL MANAGEMENT WITH AUTOGENIC MOBILE TECHNOLOGY
and by the these companies:
Oxbow Agriculture, LLC
Enterprise Group, Ltd.
CrescoAg
FarmLogs
11/21/2014
Alex Layton, Purdue University