Autonomous Tractors Pt 1
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson. Finding enough labor to get the job done on the farm is not easy, but the folks at John Deere are trying to help with that.
Brett Showalter, John Deere Global Large Tractor Manager, says you may choose not to have a driver in your new tractor …
SHOWALTER … “About a year ago we introduced our first autonomous offering which is an 8 R tractor. That’s a production tractor that we make out of our factories today and we add some additional components to those and we’re able to take the operator out of the seat and have that operate safely and do a quality job and monitor the job quality of that job application as that machine is running through the field.”
And, Showalter says the tractors will learn as they go …
SHOWALTER … “We use machine learning, A-I in order to train the machine on what’s normal application and what’s abnormal.”
As for labor, Showalter says you’ll still need help, just not as much …
SHOWALTER … “We’ll continue to have a need for that tractor to have the same functionality as it has today. That gives more flexibility for customers to be able to utilize that asset throughout their entire operation, but when we don’t need it we can take the person out of the seat and let that machine run by itself.”
Over time, Showalter says the system will pay for itself.
Tune in tomorrow for more on John Deere’s autonomous future.
