John Deere introduces several new autonomous machines at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, USA. Building on the company’s autonomous technology, first revealed at CES 2022, the second-generation autonomy kit combines advanced computer vision, AI, and cameras to help the machines navigate their environments. Also the fully electric E-Power tractor makes its entry.
While each of the equipment categories experience their own set of challenges, a commonality across all is skilled labor availability. “Our customers all have work that must get done at certain times of the day and year, yet there is not enough available and skilled labor to do the work,” said Jahmy Hindman, Chief Technology Officer at John Deere. “Autonomy can help address this challenge. That’s why we’re extending our technology stack to enable more machines to operate safely and autonomously in unique and complex environments.”
Tillage is one of the busiest times of the year for farmers. The second-generation autonomy kit on the autonomous 9RX tractor for large-scale agriculture, features 16 individual cameras arranged in pods to enable a 360-degree view of the field. It enables farmers to step away from the machine and focus their time on other important jobs. The advanced autonomy kit also calculates depth more accurately at larger distances, allowing the tractor to pull more equipment and drive faster.
Protecting crops through air blast spraying is a challenging and repetitive job. The autonomous 5ML orchard tractor features the latest autonomy kit with added Lidar sensors to address the dense canopies found in orchards.
For those seeking a sustainable solution for their farming operations, John Deere presents a prototype of the E-Power tractor, an autonomy-ready, zero tailpipe emissions tractor. It is intended for those in specialty crop and dairy and livestock sectors. The tractor will deliver a continuous 130-horsepower output, providing instant power and torque to meet demanding tasks.
The John Deere autonomy kit will be available pre-installed on new machines and as retrofit kits for certain existing machines, providing customers with multiple paths to adoption based on where they are in their technology journey.
Autonomous machines are managed via John Deere Operations Center Mobile, the company’s cloud-based platform. By swiping left to right to start, the machine can be started once placed in the appropriate spot. Through the app, users also have access to live video, images, data and metrics, and the ability to adjust various factors like speed. In the event of any job quality anomalies or machine health issues, users will be notified remotely so they can make necessary adjustments.
Apart from applications in agriculture, at CES John Deere also presents an autonomous battery electric mower for commercial landscaping and the 460 P-Tier Autonomous Articulated Dump Truck (ADT) for quarry operations.
