Miller Magazine Issue: 124 April 2020

81 ARTICLE MILLER / APRIL 2020 the right moment to its end user it starts losing its value. The application must be created for the user, based on her/his actual needs, professional, educational and social background. It is not uncommon for technological soluti- ons to fail just because they were made as if engineers or tech-savvy users would use them. Another characteristic of the end-users in agri-busi- ness is that they spend a significant amount of their time outside in the fields. This increases the need of a mobi- le-friendly application to fully interact with the platform. There are vendors who offer stripped-down versions of their cloud-based solutions, with only a limited number of features available through a smartphone or a tablet. However, nothing it impossible, as soon as a vendor invest the appropriate time and resources to design and fit all the information and controls in the palm of the end-user’s hand, and, this is something users really appreciate. Layer 5: Business Layer The last layer of IoT is business layer, because at the end of the day, what matters is that grain elevator becomes more efficient and contribute further towards business success. A tool that offers a complete solution including sensors, actuators, collection and forwarding of data, data analytics, automated grain conditioning and all this throu- gh an internet-based app is ideal. It becomes even more attractive when users realize that the ROI is reasonable given the benefits that this system brings that include: • Flexibility of data access, • New managing capabilities (e.g. quality/SST-based decisions), • Automated optimal aeration based on user-set goals (e.g. prolong storage time or save energy), • Inventory monitoring measured in bushels (accuracy 2-3%) and as a fill-level percentage, • Early warnings and grain-specific analytics (i.e. how the weather in the region can affect the grain stored in facility XYZ), • Avoid revenue losses due to spoilage. The last step in this supply chain solution is the automa- ted interconnection of the actual quantity of stored grain maintained at certain quality with the actual market th- rough marketplaces. Going back to the initial question: Can you manage your grain elevator from your phone? The answer is yes, today you can do it better than ever! Welcome to the new era of grain management! References Kaleta, A., Grnicki, K.: Csriteria of Determination of Safe Grain Storage Time – A Review. In: Advances in Agrophysical Research. InTech (2013) Navarro, S., Noyes, R.T. (Ronald T.: The mechanics and physics of modern grain aeration management. CRC Press (2002) Tzounis, A., Katsoulas, N., Bartzanas, T., Kittas, C.: Inter- net of Things in agriculture, recent advances and future chal- lenges. Biosyst. Eng. 164, (2017). doi:10.1016/j.biosystem- seng.2017.09.007 Figure 5. Managing multiple locations, any time from any place has never been easier, not until now with Centaur cloud app.