Staying ahead in the field with modern telemetry
GRIMME GSC Middleware
Services
Embedded Development
Agile Coaching
Technologies
Linux, D-BUS
C++ / CMake
Cellular standards GSM 4G / WLAN
MQTT / JSON / protobuf
ISOBUS
Azure DevOps
Architecture slows down development
As a leading manufacturer of agricultural machinery for potatoes, beets, and vegetables, GRIMME is also a pioneer in the digitalization of agricultural technology. However, the development of the GRIMME Smart Connect (GSC) telemetry unit faced recurring challenges: there was no stable, maintainable middleware layer between the supplier’s hardware and GRIMME’s customer-facing applications. Firmware updates slowed down development – new features could hardly be implemented efficiently, as each update entailed changes in several places or even led to redundant development work. The result: decreasing development speed, increasing complexity, and a growing risk of system-wide instability. The conclusion: a new, future-proof technical foundation was needed to be able to implement requirements efficiently, robustly and with long-term maintainability.
A stable basis for digital innovations
The aim of the GSC middleware was to create a stable software layer that consistently mediates between the supplier's embedded firmware and GRIMME’s applications. The goal was to eliminate system-related dependencies, decouple application development from the underlying firmware, and establish robust, maintainable interfaces in order to significantly accelerate the development of new features. At the same time, the system needed to support the simulation of complex test scenarios – especially under varying network conditions or cellular standards – to reduce the need for costly field tests. In addition, the middleware was designed to minimize friction, increase the pace of innovation, and create more room for strategic product development. Ultimately, the middleware was intended to serve as the new technological foundation for numerous future features that will deliver real added value to GRIMME’s customers.
Development partner with industry expertise
GRIMME deliberately chose slashwhy as its development partner – partly due to positive experiences from previous projects and its in-depth understanding of the agricultural machinery industry. The project kicked off with a technically focused user story mapping workshop aimed at designing a robust, scalable architecture and gathering and prioritising the requirements for the middleware.
By using GRIMME’s existing development environment and continuous integration, supported by Azure DevOps, slashwhy’s Scrum team was productive right from the start of the project. The project was divided into several phases due to seasonal factors: first, the basic functions were implemented, then optional extensions, and finally documentation and handover. Despite a tight timeline aligned with the agricultural campaign calendar, the team achieved a precise launch with successful field testing right on schedule.
Clear separation of system layers
The new system architecture of the telemetry unit clearly separates the Linux-based operating system (firmware), the communication layer (middleware) and the application logic (application layer). At the heart of the middleware is a modular agent structure with clearly defined responsibilities: the agents collect system-related data and and provide it via an MQTT broker in JSON format as a standardised interface to the application layer.
The shared technical foundation is the so-called base application, which provides central functions such as logging, start mechanisms and configuration management in a reusable and generic manner. Both agents and applications are built on this basis, which significantly accelerates their development. The clear separation of the system layers also reduces complexity, improves maintainability and enables the GRIMME development team to fully focus on application development.
From internal platform to industry solution
What was originally intended as an internal solution for GRIMME has since gained broader significance: the middleware was handed over to the Competence Centre ISOBUS e.V. (CCI) – a cross-manufacturer consortium for standardisation and digitalisation in agricultural technology. Other agricultural machinery manufacturers are now also benefiting from the solution and are jointly driving its further development together with GRIMME.
For GRIMME, this means greater freedom to focus on application development and therefore on delivering tangible value to customers.. Initial features, such as camera-supported image transmission with georeferencing, are already in use. Further digital applications, updates and assistance systems are set to follow. The new telemetry unit lays the foundation for future innovations and paves the way for GRIMME’s customers to move into data-driven agriculture.
Achievements & Outcome
Campaign-aligned software development: The project was precisely aligned with the agricultural seasonal cycles and completed on time and within budget.
More efficient application development: By decoupling from the embedded system and introducing a clear middleware architecture, GRIMME’s development team can now fully focus on implementing new applications – stable, maintainable and significantly more efficient.
Technological edge in a competitive market: With its middleware, GRIMME has created a future-ready technological basis for the telemetry unit, on which data-driven applications with real added value for customers are being developed. Customers are already benefiting from improved data availability, shorter update cycles and stable connectivity – with further digital innovations to follow.
Shorter time to market: Thanks to the middleware, the development speed for new applications, features and updates can be significantly increased.
Cost reduction in testing and service: The simulation of network and GPS conditions now enables realistic testing without the need for time-consuming field deployments. At the same time, centralised logs and integrated reporting improve error diagnostics, helping to reduce the number of service calls.
Sustainable knowledge transfer: Close collaboration between slashwhy and GRIMME strengthened the customer’s internal development capabilities, enabling GRIMME to expand its own knowledge of agile software development.
Industry-wide impact: With the middleware, GRIMME has not only created a proprietary solution but also a technological foundation that is now being used by other CCI members as well. In doing so, GRIMME is actively contributing to the standardisation of agricultural technology.
The two biggest benefits of the solution developed by slashwhy are clearly maintainability and development speed. The middleware has not only improved our time-to-market for new applications, it has also made life easier for our developers.”
Niclas Moorbrink
Chief Product Owner at GRIMME
We knew from the start that the schedule would be extremely tight due to the season-driven development cycle. That’s why our expectations for slashwhy were high. All the more impressive that we were able to deploy and test the solution in the field as planned during the summer.”
Patrick Ideler
Product Owner at GRIMME
We had already had good experiences with slashwhy in earlier projects and knew: they understand the industry, they know what our requirements are, and they’ve heard of things like agricultural campaigns and seasonal cycles.”
Niclas Moorbrink
Chief Product Owner at GRIMME
We now have nearly 2,000 devices with the middleware in the field – worldwide. They’re running reliably, and today we can release software updates with confidence because we know: it works. Two years ago, every update still carried some residual risk – but we’ve got that under control now.”
Patrick Ideler
Product Owner at GRIMME
We have a device running embedded Linux with various interfaces. Based on that, slashwhy developed a middleware that controls these interfaces so other applications can use them easily. The special part is the broker in the middle – it makes everything transparently accessible without having to dive deep into the embedded world.”
Patrick Ideler
Product Owner at GRIMME
The user story mapping workshop with slashwhy before the project started really helped us focus on implementing the things we actually needed. I still don't miss the rest today either.”
Niclas Moorbrink
Chief Product Owner at GRIMME
A real highlight of the solution for me is the base application. That idea came from slashwhy. Now we have a core module that all applications are built on. Logging is already integrated, the startup file is set up, and everything else moves much faster as a result.”
Niclas Moorbrink
Chief Product Owner at GRIMME
We always looked forward to the joint meetings, like the sprint retrospectives. slashwhy was always very well prepared for them. Overall, the collaboration was truly excellent and very pleasant.”
Patrick Ideler
Product Owner at GRIMME
I found it really helpful to get a fresh outside perspective on our grown system through slashwhy. Sometimes an external partner just sees things differently – and at that point, that was exactly what we needed.”
Niclas Moorbrink
Chief Product Owner at GRIMME
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