The connectors driving the farms of the future

The drone hovers slowly across the fruit-laden field. Fitted with a multispectral imaging system, it captures footage as the farmer sits in the warmth and uses the bird’s-eye video to detect issues with irrigation, soil variation and even pest and fungal infestations, ultimately increasing crop production.

It’s just one example of how farmers are using technology to build farms of the future. This paradigm shift in agriculture means that farms will increasingly use everything from drones and field sensors to autonomous harvesting equipment and cab-mounted GPS units to send data back to base.

With this change, farmers will need to adapt; upgrading their equipment as they go. One such component that’s easy to overlook is the humble connector. Already used widely across the agricultural sector, it’s responsible for delivering power, connecting cameras to screens in the tractor cab, and allowing the operator to send control signals to harvesting attachments. Being used so often, its essential connectors used in farming equipment are designed to handle various harsh conditions to promote farms of the future.

While a stainless-steel connector is useful for heat shielding, its weight may make it less favourable for drone applications. Similarly, while a plastic or composite connector offers a low-weight connector that’s inherently resistant to corrosion and chemicals — plastic can wear with prolonged outdoor exposure. In some cases, a balance could be achieved with an aluminium connector featuring electroless nickel plating, delivering a low-weight, metallised and durable connector.

Growing complexity means farmers will need to consider the ability to transfer power and high-speed data effectively. This may warrant the need for high bandwidth fibre optic cables that collect and process the data from all the sensors as well as the wireless control signals from the remote operator.

Basic connectors will comprise variations of existing cylindrical style M12 ethernet connectors, favoured for their rugged build, in addition to bayonet and push-fit, quick-release designs that make it easier to unmate when wearing gloves and during cold weather.

These push-pull connectors have become increasingly popular across the industry over the last decade. They are to be used and may become standardised in many future agricultural applications.

More advanced connectors make use of the ISO-Bus platform, a system that allows farmers to employ different equipment from different manufacturers with the same tractor and towing vehicles, increasing compatibility as a result.

PEI-Genesis can also support customers in designing a fully modular connector assembly. Here, farmers can integrate multiple types of connectors into a single plate to meet today's needs – swapping the inserts when they need to upgrade cables or configuration of contacts in five years’ time. For example, exchanging copper to fibre optic — while retaining the same shell housing and external features of the connector.

This allows farmers to upgrade their system without incurring additional testing, drawing, reengineering and production costs. It will also give farmers the flexibility and prompt to make changes quickly to adapt to market conditions without incurring high costs in the process.

As the agricultural industry embraces the latest smart farming technology, farmers will need to ensure that equipment, including connectors, doesn’t become a costly bottleneck in facilitating this smooth transition. Thinking about your connectors now will make this connected future a reality.