JOHN DEERE REVEALS FULLY AUTONOMOUS TRACTOR
Autonomous Tractor Preview
Full Press Unveil January 4 2022
MOLINE, IL (January 4, 2022) – During a press conference at CES® 2022, John Deere revealed a fully autonomous tractor that’s ready for large-scale production. The machine combines Deere’s 8R Tractor, TruSet™-enabled chisel plow, GPS guidance system, and new advanced technologies. The autonomous tractor will be available to farmers later this year.
The autonomous tractor serves a specific purpose: feeding the world. The global population is expected to grow from about 8 billion to nearly 10 billion people by 2050, increasing the global food demand by 50%. Furthermore, farmers must feed this growing population with less available land and skilled labor, and work through the variables inherent in farming like changing weather conditions and climate, variations in soil quality, and the presence of weeds and pests. All of these factors impact a farmer’s ability to farm during the most critical times of the year.
The autonomous tractor has six pairs of stereo cameras, which enable 360-degree obstacle detection and the calculation of distance. Images captured by the cameras are passed through a deep neural network that classifies each pixel in approximately 100 milliseconds and determines if the machine continues to move or stops, depending on if an obstacle is detected. The autonomous tractor is also continuously checking its position relative to a geofence, ensuring it is operating where it is supposed to and at an accuracy of within less than an inch.
To use the autonomous tractor, farmers only need to transport the machine to a field and configure it for autonomous operation. Using John Deere Operations Center Mobile, they can swipe from left to right to start the machine. While the machine is working, the farmer can leave the field to focus on other tasks while monitoring the machine’s status from their mobile device.
John Deere Operations Center Mobile provides access to live video, images, data, and metrics, and allows a farmer to adjust speed, depth, and more. In the event of any job-quality anomalies or machine-health issues, farmers will be notified remotely and can make adjustments to optimize the performance of the machine.
The full press conference can be viewed on John Deere’s CES microsite: www.JohnDeere.com/CES
John Deere CES 2022 Booth, Panel, and Fireside Chats
The fully autonomous tractor will be on display from January 5–8, 2022, at John Deere’s CES booth located in Central Plaza at the Las Vegas Convention Center (CP-14). The booth will also showcase cutting-edge technologies that are being used by farmers today, such as AI, GPS, automation, and more.
On Wednesday, January 5 at 9 a.m., John Deere’s Chief Technology Officer Jahmy Hindman will speak on a panel focused on exploring AI’s potential in business. Titled Frontiers in Business AI, the panel will take place in the Las Vegas Convention Center’s North Hall in Room N251.
Additionally, Deere will hold a series of Fireside Chats at its booth, exploring key technologies and how they impact agriculture:
- Wednesday, January 5 from 3:30–3:45 p.m. PT: Driving (Autonomously) With Purpose
- Thursday, January 6 from 11:00–11:15 a.m. PT: This Isn’t Old MacDonald’s Farm
- Thursday, January 6 from 3:00–3:15 p.m. PT: Swipe To Begin Farming
All of the content and demos from Deere’s CES booth will also be available on the company’s microsite: www.JohnDeere.com/CES.
About Deere & Company
Deere & Company (www.JohnDeere.com) is a world leader in providing advanced products, technology, and services for customers whose work is revolutionizing agriculture and construction — those who cultivate, harvest, transform, enrich, and build upon the land to meet the world’s increasing need for food, fuel, shelter, and infrastructure.
Contact:
Laurel Caes
Public Relations Manager – Technology & Innovation
[email protected]
