John Deere launches autonomous tractor line-up
John Deere has unveiled its new autonomous tractor line-up. Picture: John Deere
Self-driving vehicles are moving off the roads and onto the fields.
Deere & Co, the largest farm equipment manufacturer in the world, unveiled a fully autonomous tractor on Tuesday, propelling it past rivals in the tech space.
The company introduced the technology on its 8 series tractor, which it says can be controlled from farmers’ mobile phones. Humans will need to transport the machine to a field and configure it for an autonomous run, but then they can let the tractor plant seeds, spray nutrients and harvest crops down to one inch of accuracy without touching a steering wheel, the company said.
The announcement, made at CES 2022, thrusts, Illinois-based Deere further into so-called precision agriculture -- a key way for farmers to improve harvests without using more labour. The autonomous tractor will be available for purchase later this year.
“Without this self-driving technology, farming is incredibly exhausting mentally and physically,” Jahmy Hindman, Deere’s chief technology officer, said during a CES presentation in Las Vegas. “You’ll find some of the most advanced robotic machines are being used on the farm to feed the world.”
Deere's initial automated tractors will use stereo cameras in the front and rear, and can send images of what the cameras see via a smartphone app to a farmer or equipment operator. The operator can take the tractor to a field, swipe the smartphone screen and the machine will start on a programmed path.
The tractor's computerized vision system will monitor the tiller, which will have mirrors installed on the shanks that churn plant stubble into the ground. If one of the shanks hits a rock and gets tipped up, the change in the reflection from the mirror will be visible to a remote operator.
Deere is working on automating other farm operations, with spraying likely the next target for automation, Hindman said.
Deere plans a low-volume launch this year delivering systems for 12 to 20 machines, and then scaling up. The company is weighing whether to sell the technology, lease it, or offer it to US farmers in a subscription package that could allow for upgrades as hardware and software evolve, he said. The cameras and computers for automated tilling can be installed on an existing tractor and tiller machine in a day, Hindman said.
Deere and other equipment makers such as Caterpillar have invested heavily in technology to automate off-highway vehicles such as farm tractors and mining machines. In the farm sector, finding workers to operate tractors is a chronic problem made more acute by the pandemic.
In August, John Deere acquired autonomous driving technology startup Bear Flag Robotics for $250m, a bet that farming will continue becoming more automated.
Automation is thought to be key to solving farm labour shortages, which have long been rife in the sector. Growers are struggling to get enough workers to bring crops from fields at a time when global hunger is on the rise.
“One of the biggest challenges farmers face today is the availability of skilled labour to execute time-sensitive operations that impact farming outcomes,” Bear Flag CEO Igino Cafiero said. “Autonomy offers a safe and productive alternative to address that challenge head-on.”
Bloomberg & Reuters
