John Deere Announces Autonomous 8R Tractor

New technology is ever-evolving in agriculture, with John Deere often leading the way. Earlier this month, the company announced a fully autonomous, self-driving 8R tractor at this year's Consumer Technology Association (CES) tradeshow. Though it is not available for retail yet, the opportunities this tractor holds for the future are endless. This new 8R tractor incorporates a TruSet-enabled chisel plow, GPS guidance system, and new advanced technologies.
 

Benefit to Farmers

Specific jobs on the farm take less planning and analysis than others, one of which is working up a field at the beginning or end of the season. John Deere's autonomous tractor is made for jobs like this. After calibrating the tractor with the geofencing information, setting the parameters, and doing a scan and check of the field for any obstacles that may disrupt progress, farmers can operate the tractor using their smartphone without having to get in the cab. Using state-of-the-art GPS, detection, and 360-cameras, this tractor is constantly updating and adjusting itself to within 1 inch of accuracy. If any obstacle is detected, the tractor will turn off, and a notification will come through the mobile app to reduce downtime. While the tractor is working the field, the farmer can get other jobs done and better utilize their time. 
 

Benefit to the World

The number of farmers has been declining while the number of acres farmed per farm has been increasing, which means more land to farm but fewer people to do it. The various innovations in equipment and technology make larger-scale farms possible, and the addition of an autonomous tractor that can work longer hours can increase productivity significantly. For example, while the tractor is working the field in preparation for seeding, the farmer can be prepping the air drill, which means he will be in the field seeding sooner. Given the unpredictability of weather, this could mean a significantly longer growing season and a more plentiful crop. Which in turn provides more food products. 

Watch to learn more about the future of farming and how John Deere Operations Center Mobile provides access to live video, images, data and metrics:




Contact your local Brandt Agriculture Sales Rep. for more information and keep up to date on product availability.