The Agricultural Industry Electronics Foundation (AEF), a global non-profit organization driving interoperability of precision agriculture through cross-manufacturer compatibility and standardized communication protocols, will gather hundreds of the world’s top software engineers at its fall Plugfest in Marienfeld, Germany, September 8-12 at the Hotel-Residence Klosterpforte.
“Plugfest brings together software engineers from around the world to build a common language for agricultural equipment while sharing a vision for the future of farming,” said Norbert Schlingmann, General Manager, AEF. “The event creates a ripple affect across the entire precision ag tech field for the benefit of farmers everywhere.”
For three days in a row, engineers will test their ISOBUS products for compatibility with those from their competitors in a speed-dating like fashion, performing up to 48 different tests in 30-minute timeslots to see what works the first time, and sometimes where improvements are needed to obtain compatibility on the ISOBUS.
The Agricultural Interoperability Network (AgIN) Demonstration
For the first time at Plugfest, AgIN’s interoperability environment will be tested in order to identify any remaining issues or necessary adjustments needed in advance of November’s Agritechnica, where the first use case for sharing machine data will be demonstrated through the display of telemetry data from assets of different brands. Developers from AgIN participant companies will collaborate directly with the AEF AgIN development team, who will offer assistance in setting up sample data and connected platforms, ensuring a stable and effective network.
This Year’s HSI Discovery Station:
While most internet-based devices utilize Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4), the newer IPv6 is better suited for the future as it can handle more connected devices with greater efficiency. The transition to High Speed ISOBUS (HSI) and IPv6 is underway, and engineers will test the compatibility of various products at the “HSI Discovery Station” where the teams will be testing:
- Command and Control: This focuses on high-speed communications with the Universal Terminal (UT). If tests are successful, confidence is gained that all ISOBUS functions such as task controller and tractor-implement management will work at far higher levels of precision and performance.
- Diagnostics: This work tests two standards: Diagnostics over Internet Protocol (DoIP), and Service Oriented Vehicle Diagnostics (SOVD). The goal of this combination is to reduce troubleshooting effort and time to repair.
- Demonstrations of Gateway (GW) functionality which bridges existing ISOBUS devices with the new capabilities of HSI.
- Cameras and monitors: The AEF Digital Camera Systems (DCS) team will focus on newly-developed commands between monitors and cameras that will vastly improve interoperability.
“Plugfests serve as critical proving grounds for next generation technology, ensuring reliable implement control, real-time camera and monitor integration, advanced tractor implement management, and effective diagnostics,” said David Smart, retired senior staff engineer and John Deere Fellow, and the AEF HSI Team Leader. “It’s a place to test our assumptions to see if everybody came to the same interpretation.”
“Our demonstration of the AgIN data space at Plugfest is similar to ISOBUS or HSI testing, but without cables,” said Schlingmann. “We will connect the different manufacturers’ clouds using a common connector, allowing visible peer-to-peer connections to all other participants in the network. This will be an important test run prior to Agritechnica.”
AEF Plugfests, biannual events held in the United States and Europe, began in 2001 to help engineers test ISOBUS products under development, and ensure that manufacturers of tractors, implements and components were interpreting the ISO 11783 standard in a compatible way. The events attract hundreds of attendees and participants, including AGCO, CNH Industrial, CLAAS, John Deere, Kubota, KUHN, and SAME DEUTZ-FAHR, and dozens of others, including first-timers to the event.
AEF membership is required for participant registration and applies to anyone who is directly or indirectly involved with testing activities. Participants should register before August 17, 2025. Visitor registration is available to those who are observing the AEF activities and are not involved in testing activities. Visitor registrations are possible at any time, even during Plugfest week until September 10, 2025: https://www.aef-isobus-database.org/isobusdb/login.jsf
For more information about AEF, please visit: www.aef-online.org.
