Experts expect New Zealand farmers to be among the first wave of businesses to benefit from the internet-of-things.
It's the name phone companies and gadget makers have given to the business of adding sensors to every day items and then connecting them to networks. Eventually it will cover everything from cows to milking machines, irrigation equipment and watching farm gates.
Vodafone enterprise director Ken Tunnicliffe says: "We probably lead the world in using the internet-of-things and machine-to-machine communications in agricultural businesses. I've got a dedicated team of people working in this area and they talk all the time to Vodafone's global team. We're helping our local partners sell their technology to other Vodafone branches overseas."
One place internet-of-things technology is showing up is on all-terrain quad bikes. Farm Angel, from Blackhawk Tracking Systems, is a Wi-Fi-enabled GPS tracking device that attaches to a quad bike and continually sends data to a secure server using Vodafone's mobile network. If the device goes beyond the coverage area a secondary back-up satellite communications system kicks in.
Blackhawk chief executive Andrew Radcliffe says Farm Angel helps farmers meet health and safety requirements. "Quad bikes are the modern farmer's workhorse. They can go almost anywhere, but they can be dangerous. More farm workers are killed or injured by quad bikes than anything else," he says.
