Date of Award

Spring 2015

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Agricultural and Biological Engineering

First Advisor

Dennis Buckmaster

Committee Chair

Dennis Buckmaster

Committee Member 1

Danial Ess

Committee Member 2

James Krogmeier

Committee Member 3

Mark Tucker

Abstract

A major part of modern manure management is accurate application records; a key to their creation and maintenance is ease. This project involved the integration of existing technologies (smartphones, Bluetooth tags) in mobile web and native Android applications (apps) which enable the autogenic creation and upkeep of manure hauling records. This approach greatly improves the efficiency of the recording process which should help to improve the management of applied nutrients. Features of the app include: computation of a suggested travel speed to ensure target nutrient application (based on desired application rate and spreading width); minimized keystrokes/screen taps to accurately capture data for source, date, time, spreader, operator, georeferenced spread path, and field ; and data export for later aggregation and analysis. Autonomous operation was facilitated with a Bluetooth capable sensor tag which can automatically detect the spreader identity and spreading status (via accelerometer readings). The GPS capability of mobile devices facilitated the automatic detection of field and the creation of the georeferenced spread path. ^ The app was developed in stages and initially developed as a web app; Apache Cordova was then used to convert the code into a native app which can operate in the background, giving near autonomous operation. This app approach could be readily adapted to other field operations in agriculture and related industries.

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