The combination of UHDI's high-bandwidth capabilities and IoT's real-time data processing can lead to more efficient, immersive, and smarter IoT systems. This convergence of two revolutionary technologies is enabling quantum advancements in some very “unconventional” applications.

The typical discussions around UHDI focus on our standard electronics industry market segments like milaero, medical, consumer electronics, etc. IoT is all about machines talking to other machines, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, but again, typically applied in our PCB and assembly operations. The combination of UHDI and IoT is now exploding outside the electronics manufacturing industry, and the following two examples illustrate unexpected applications in farming.

The first is HerdDogg, a company that specializes in smart livestock tracking solutions using IoT technologies powered by UHDI engines. HerdDogg’s system is designed to provide real-time insights into herd health, location, behavior, and environmental conditions. The company makes lightweight sensors that are attached to the ears of herd animals to collect herd data and transmit it to the cloud, where it can then be accessed via the company’s app. The company also offers a drone that taps into the GPS location of herd animals so farmers and ranchers can oversee their herds remotely.

These wearable devices contain accelerometers to detect movement patterns and behaviors, temperature sensors to monitor animal health, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) transmitters (hardware transmitters), and low-power UHDI PCB technology to achieve compact, reliable functionality and high-speed data transmission. UHDI contributes compact, lightweight DoggTags, power efficiency and battery life, durability in outdoor environments, and integration of sensors, transmitters, and battery management in a tiny form factor.  

Benefits to the Rancher/Farmer

HerdDogg is a game-changing technology for ranchers that provides many benefits, including:

• Real-time visibility into herd health and behavior

• Early detection of illness or distress, reducing treatment costs and losses

• Location tracking (preventing lost animals, optimizing grazing patterns)

• Improved breeding management through behavioral insights

• Data-driven decisions for better livestock productivity

• Cloud-based analytics platform providing real-time data on the herd

Another company changing the face of farming is AGCO Corporation, which has developed a smart farming platform called Fuse®, enabling farmers to digitize daily processes. AGCO’s central digital platform integrates its entire smart farming ecosystem, allowing for machine-to-machine communication, integration with third-party software and equipment, cloud-based analytics and farm management, and telematics and remote diagnostics. There are a number of aspects to their smart farming platform, including:
 

1. IoT-enabled machinery

AGCO’s equipment (tractors, combines, planters) are embedded with:

• Telematics units

• Sensors for soil conditions, fuel consumption, seed placement, crop yield, etc.

• CAN (Controller Area Network) bus communication systems Data from these machines feeds into the Fuse platform in real-time.

2. AgCommand® and TaskDoc®

• AgCommand is a fleet management system. It tracks equipment location, fuel levels, machine health, and operator behavior.

• TaskDoc captures field data (e.g., seed rates, yield maps) automatically and transfers it to farm management systems.

3. Precision agriculture tools

• Auto-guidance systems for precise tractor steering, reducing overlap, and optimizing fieldwork.

• Variable rate technology (VRT) adjusts inputs (seed, fertilizer) dynamically based on soil maps and sensor data.

• Section Control minimizes over-application of inputs.

4. Cloud and data integration

• Data from machinery and sensors is uploaded to AGCO’s cloud.

• Integrates with farm management systems (FMS) like Climate FieldView, AgLeader, etc.

• Enables data-driven decision-making, predictive maintenance, and AI-driven recommendations.

Benefits of AGCO’s Smart Farming Platform

This powerful combination of UHDI and IoT unleashes virtually unlimited potential for any industry. Future farming applications may expand into integration of AI and machine learning to further automate decision-making, enhanced robotics and autonomous machinery, expanded UAV (drone) integration for aerial field data, and use of blockchain for supply chain traceability.

To read the entire article, which originally appeared in the April 2025 issue of Design007 Magazine, click here.