Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/536721
EquipmentWorld.com | July 2015 17 I n a recent blog on WIRED. com author Kyle Wiens re- ported that farmers are mad about the proliferation of sen- sors and computers running their big, diesel powered machines. You may own the tractor, but, according to the article, the manu- facturer owns the software that makes it run. You can't hack, tweak or change one line of code. Farm- ers, who like to hack, tweak and change things, hate this – or at least the two Wiens quoted hate it. Software and copyright Wiens, is an advocate for open source software and the co-founder and CEO of iFixit, an online repair community and parts retailer. At the heart of his argument is the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Section 1201, which claims the software codes that run these sophisticated machine operations are protected by copyright laws. Wiens would like an exemp- tion to the act to allow owners of software-controlled equipment, in- cluding tractors, to rewrite the code if they so desire. But when you talk to heavy equipment contractors and fl eet managers you get a different opinion. I've interviewed hundreds of contractors in the last 15 years. Not a one of them every expressed a desire to alter the software on their machines. Here's why: Performance. The software pro- grams that control engine speed, hydraulic power, gear selection, traction and implement response are all maximized to do the most amount of work in the least time with a minimum amount of fuel. Emissions. The complex exhaust emissions systems in these ma- chines have cut pollution going out the exhaust stack by more than 95 percent in a decade. This would have not been possible without highly evolved software. Plus, if you tamper with the code that con- trols these emissions systems you could be facing six fi gure fi nes from the EPA. Uptime. Hand-in-glove with the software, today's telematics systems will give contractors early warning of potential problems and prevent catastrophic and expensive failures. It will send you phone alerts and let you check the internet for the real time health and operating pa- rameters of any machine you own anywhere in the world. opinion | by Tom Jackson | TJackson@randallreilly.com EQUIPMENT SOFTWARE WIRED.com blog implies a corporate conspiracy to lock you out, but most heavy equipment contractors have a different opinion Software and algorithms controlling today's equip- ment will optimize performance, fuel economy and emissions by managing tens of thousands of bits of information from sensors on every major component.