CNH Industrial debuted its latest automation and autonomy solutions at its Tech Day in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. New Driverless Tillage and Driver Assist Harvest solutions from Raven, and Baler Automation from Case IH and New Holland, deliver automation and autonomous equipment enhancements.
These latest technology developments all help solve farming’s biggest challenges: to increase productivity and to do more with less resources, more sustainably. They form part of the Ag Tech roadmap of CNH Industrial.
“The agriculture industry is faced with the challenges of time, costs, constrained operational windows, and a dwindling labor force. Autonomy will become an integral part of farmers’ operations everywhere,” said Derek Neilson, President, Agriculture. “We believe that Autonomy and Automation technologies are fundamental to the future of farming. They cover all farmer segments and drive real world benefits.”
Driver Assist Harvest Solution
This new automation technology for the tractor platform leverages the Case IH brand’s harvest technology with Raven Autonomy integration. It provides a coordinated control feature that allows for the Driver Assist Harvest Solution to chart the path and speed of the tractor pulling the grain cart alongside a combine harvester during an ‘unload on the go’ operation.
The Driver Assist Harvest Solutions keeps the tractor perfectly in sync with the combine harvester when unloading grain – giving the combine operator seamless control over the unloading process. This makes the full operation more efficient, with less grain spillage in the process. Our new technology helps remedy the lack of skilled labor by simplifying the task. It also provides a better user experience with less operator fatigue. This solution will be made commercially available for both Case IH and New Holland brands.
Driverless Tillage Solution
The Driverless Tillage Solution features an advanced perception system and remote command & control experience from Raven Autonomy, which functions with no operator in the cab. The machine can be operated remotely from a mobile tablet device. The operator can plan and execute precise, automated missions with consistent agronomic results monitored from anywhere.
This development combines the Case IH tractor and tillage platform with Raven autonomy to deliver this autonomous tillage solution. The Raven Autonomy technology platform provides a flexible, scalable tech stack to the iron. This solution also leverages existing Case IH tillage automation for ultimate agronomic and machine control of the implement. The result is increased productivity with consistent agronomic performance and richer data insights.
Case IH and New Holland’s significant automation developments are continuing to accelerate with the ongoing integration of Raven.
Baling Automation
Industry-first Baler Automation was also unveiled on New Holland large square balers, featuring new technology that uses a LiDAR sensor to that scan the windrow in front of the tractor for density, volume and direction. The tractor and baler then use this input to automatically control steering, forward speed and baler settings to ensure the baler follows the windrow precisely for accurate crop feeding. The result? Optimized bale shape, increased productivity, operator comfort and reduced fuel consumption. Case IH will also offer the baling automation feature.
Automation and Autonomy technology
Earlier this year at the Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa, USA, Case IH and Raven introduced the agriculture industry’s first autonomous spreader, the Case IH Trident 5550 applicator with Raven Autonomy (Driverless Spreading Solution). Meanwhile both New Holland and Case IH combines offer award-winning combine automation, and both Case IH Patriot and New Holland Guardian sprayers that come equipped with application control automation.
“We’re on the road to full autonomy. We focus on delivering an autonomous tech stack that scales across all production cycles for the cash crop segment: crop preparation, planting/seeding, crop care, harvest, hay, and forage. Focusing on automation and autonomy is not taking farmers out of farming it’s making their machines more productive with functional automation,” said Parag Garg, CNH Industrial Chief Digital Product Officer. “Our focus is to make the Precision Technology on our equipment so smart, that the customer can focus on the farm and let CNH Industrial take care of rest.”
