Solutions for the Agricultural Market

Innovative, efficient and environmentally friendly applications for all aspects of agricultural vehicles.

Due to its versatility, our agriculture divisionoffers a broad range of possibilities for the application of automotive technology. These include sensor-based environment detection, precise positioning, visual environment monitoring, various HMI concepts, or the expansion of vehicle connectivity. In this market environment, our customers benefit from our many years of experience in agriculture, combined with the opportunities to adapt passenger vehicle and commercial vehicle technology to agricultural applications.

We are delivering new agricultural solutions and ideas in the areas of digitalization, automation and sustainability.​

Shaping the Future of Agriculture

Agriculture plays a substantial role in the lives of all people in all countries, now and in the future. In Germany alone, almost half of the entire land area is used for agriculture. At the same time, the global agricultural industry is undergoing fundamental changes and is facing many challenges. The three global challenges for agriculture are the constant growth of the world population, climate change threatening farmland and water resources, and a great threat for biodiversity.

The answer to these mega trends is largely based on digitization. Digitization is an opportunity for the agricultural market to make farms smarter, more efficient and more sustainable. To find out more about the megatrends challenging the agricultural sector and our innovative solutions visit our Continental site here. 

Smart Farming​

The future of high-efficiency agriculture

Smart farming – or digitalized agriculture – is an important response to the question of how to manage and sustain sufficient food supply for the world’s growing population. We are not claiming too much when we say that smart farming is the future of agriculture. Digitalized agriculture will help us to protect our planet in the future by increasing productivity without increasing the area under cultivation. It enables us to produce more efficiently, increase sustainability and service quality, and raise the quality of our food.

This new concept of farming requires intelligent future technologies. For example, robots that can work autonomously in the field, versatile farming drones, a new generation of agricultural vehicles or durable agricultural belts. In all these areas, Continental Engineering Services is currently developing or already offering smart and intelligent solutions. 

You can find out more about Smart Farming on our Continental Smart Farming page. 

Farming Robots and Drones

We develop concepts for autonomously operating farming robots that can monitor plant growth and weeds or apply seeds and fertilizer in a targeted manner using the appropriate attachments. Modern software provides the required data based on cameras, multispectral or thermographic sensors, radar and lidar systems.

Another important issue is soil compaction, as agricultural machinery has become heavier in recent decades. For this, small and lightweight robots provide a solution. These can work autonomously in the fields and, for example, remove weeds, monitor the growth of the harvest or distribute seeds and fertilizer in the required quantities in a targeted manner. To accomplish this, the use of camera-based, multispectral or thermographic sensors is required.

In the coming years, innovative drone technology offers great potential for agriculture. Supported by GPS data, autonomous farming drones can, for example, efficiently and quickly distribute pesticides or provide shelter for animals before mowing. Drones with special cameras can also be used to record thermal images and thus quickly and precisely determine the water balance in the soil.

To see what is already possible and with what technology Continental Engineering Services is developing smart farming systems, visit our Industrial Radar Sensor page.

Customized Instruments and Smart Belts

A new generation of body electronics for tractors and other agricultural vehicles is also part of the solution. These are equipped with extremely robust instruments and displays that are installed in the cockpit. The instrument clusters can be tailored and adapted to meet the individual requirements of each commercial vehicle.

Instrument reliability is also crucial for efficient and future-proof agriculture – because it saves time, money and materials. Extreme weather conditions constantly present the sector with new challenges, which is why, for example, durable agricultural belts enable consistent production and thus minimize downtime. Sensor technology ensures continuous monitoring of the drive belts in combine harvesters. This means that impending malfunctions can be detected before they occur and costly unscheduled machine downtime can be avoided. High reliability through advanced instrumentation thus enables farmers to improve their response time, availability and service quality.

Our Contribution

Continental Engineering Services is currently developing or even already offering innovative solutions in all these areas of agriculture. Megatrends will increasingly impact agriculture in the future and present it with growing challenges. We see this change as an opportunity. With our intelligent products and systems, we are actively helping to overcome these challenges and play a key role in shaping smart agriculture. To learn more about farm robots, farming drones, smart farms and agricultural belts, visit our Continental Smart Farms page. 

In addition to all these innovations, we must above all better protect the environment and the climate in order to secure the future of agriculture. We can all make a personal contribution to this. You can read about the measures we are taking as a company to improve sustainability and environmental protection here. 

DIRECT CONTACT

Matthias Clemenz

Head of Global Business Development – Cross Technology Operations and Non Automotive
 

Tel: +49 69 67869 6410
Email: matthias.clemenz@conti-engineering.com