AEF seeks to standardize video system integration

The Agricultural Industry Electronics Foundation (AEF), a global non-profit organization founded to improve cross-manufacturer compatibility in agricultural equipment, has formed a Digital Camera Systems (DCS) Project Team to improve cross-brand interoperability and integration of digital cameras.

Agricultural equipment manufacturers and machine operators are currently making the transition from analog to digital video systems. These new systems often bring a range of additional feature sets, AEF stated, including configuration options such as frame rates and video quality, different views such as slow motion, zooming to a region of interest, 360° birds-eye view or even object detection – all of which can lead to a variety of compatibility challenges.

“Currently, there is not a standard that covers the integration of video systems into complex, mobile working machines such as mixed fleet tractor-implement combinations,” noted Norbert Schlingmann, general manager, AEF. The DCS team is charged with collaborating to develop a standard to ensure brand interoperability in the future.

Niklas Niebrügge, ANEDO GmbH, will lead AEF's Digital Camera Systems (DCS) project team. (Photo: Agricultural Industry Electronics Foundation)

The team unites more than 20 digital camera experts from AEF member companies spanning the United States, South America, Europe and Asia. It includes a diverse group of camera, terminal, cable, connector and agricultural machinery manufacturers, as well as system integrators and suppliers.

The team’s first goal will be to develop a new AEF functionality to enable plug-and-play, off-the-shelf video solutions that offer vision system component interoperability and easy integration for manufacturers and aftermarket sales in the context of High Speed ISOBUS (HSI) infrastructure. To achieve this, the team will work closely with AEF’s HSI and Wireless In-field Communication (WIC) project teams. The DCS team will also be developing an AEF Guideline for Protocols and Interfaces.

The team will be led by Niklas Niebrügge, ANEDO GmbH, a software developer with experience in digital video system solutions. Niklas has been a member of AEF’s High Speed ISOBUS (HSI) project team since 2020, supporting the areas of digital video and camera communication interfaces such as ISO 17215.

“Today, video system components are constantly combined in new ways, leading to a high risk of cross-brand incompatibility and access difficulties for the end user,” said Niebrügge. “I am looking forward to leading the new DCS team and having additional active support in identifying typical use cases and determining further requirements to find solutions to these issues.”