John Deere launches autonomous models

JOHN Deere has unveiled new autonomous machines for agriculture, commercial landscaping and construction.

Building on Deere's autonomous technology first revealed at the Consumer Electronics Show 2022 in the United States, the company's second-generation autonomy kit combines advanced computer vision, artificial intelligence and cameras to help the machines navigate their environments.

«Our agriculture, construction and commercial landscaping 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. This will not only benefit our customers, but all of us who rely on them to provide the food, fuel, fiber, infrastructure and landscaping care that we depend on every day,» he added.

For large-scale agriculture, the 9RX farm tractor offers the brand's second-generation autonomy kit, featuring 16 individual cameras arranged in pods to enable a 360-degree view of the field. The advanced autonomy kit also calculates depth more accurately at larger distances, allowing the tractor to pull more equipment and drive faster.

For air blast spraying, the 5ML orchard tractor features the latest autonomy kit with added Lidar sensors to address the dense canopies found in orchards. The initial machine will be offered with a diesel engine. A battery electric tractor of comparable size and capacity to existing diesel 5M/ML models on the market today will follow.

For commercial landscaping, the brand's battery electric mower leverages the same camera technology as other John Deere autonomous machines but on a reduced scale since the machine has a smaller footprint. It has two cameras on the front, left, right and rear, 360-degree coverage is achieved, and staff can focus on other aspects of the job.

For quarry operations, the 460 P-Tier Autonomous Articulated Dump Truck utilizes a second-generation autonomous kit.

Select machines will be