New Integration with Raven Slingshot Field Data and Devices
October 21, 2015
SUNNYVALE, Calif. and SIOUX FALLS, S.D., Oct. 21, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Trimble (NASDAQ: TRMB) and Raven® (NASDAQ: RAVN) announced today that users of the Trimble® Connected Farm™ solution can now view task data and as-applied maps transferred wirelessly from Raven’s Slingshot® system. By tapping into the Slingshot API, Connected Farm is able to communicate with Raven field computers, such as the Viper Pro™ and Viper® 4 to wirelessly transfer field data and locate equipment in the field. The integration between the Connected Farm platform and Raven Slingshot data will provide growers a more complete picture of their field activities and enable them to make real-time decisions for variable rate prescriptions, work orders and resource deployment.
As a Web-based solution, Connected Farm integrates data from multiple precision farming technologies so growers can easily view information from field activities such as planting, spraying or harvesting—without physically visiting each field or hand compiling information. In Connected Farm, data from a wide range of machine makes and models combined with commodity markets data, weather forecasts, rainfall totals and irrigation monitoring offer growers an easy-to-use platform for total farm management. Growers can access the integrated data on the Connected Farm dashboard using any Web-enabled device such as a smartphone, tablet or PC.
With this integration users who subscribe to Raven’s Slingshot system will be able to automatically transfer data from their Slingshot Web accounts and Raven’s field computers into Trimble’s Connected Farm.
Raven Slingshot is a precision agriculture system that offers reliable, high-speed connectivity via cell technology, cloud-based data transfer and management, data security and wireless RTK corrections. It works as an open ecosystem, meaning it’s designed to work with software developed by other companies. The Slingshot API is intended for growers, retailers, agronomists and independent software vendors alike to share agronomic data in a secure, controlled manner. This means the grower has the ability to utilize any software program of their choice to upload/download agronomic data from the tractor to the office using Slingshot.
“Farmers should have a choice in the brands and solutions they use in their operation,” said Joe Denniston, vice president of Trimble’s Agriculture Division. “Pulling data from multiple sources and delivering it in a manner that allows for timely decision making is critical for managing costs. With this integration, growers can now access all of their Trimble and Raven data from one central location in Connected Farm to enable improved decisions from the office and the field.”
“Raven believes that our customers’ data and equipment should work with the software and management tools they already use. We believe in fitting into the unique way our customers manage their business rather than dictating how they run their business. Integration with Connected Farm is another example of this,” said Josh Skanderup, product manager for Raven Slingshot.