What Does Deere’s Fully Autonomous Tractor Mean for Sustainability in Agriculture?
The machine combines Deere’s 8R tractor, TruSet-enabled chisel plow, GPS guidance system, and new advanced technologies.
When it comes to technological breakthroughs and innovation, farming equipment giant John Deere might not be the first name that comes to mind, writes Jesse Klein at GreenBiz. But at the recent 2022 Consumer Electronics Show, Deere made one of the splashiest announcements of the event: unveiling the first fully autonomous tractor for large scale farming production.
Here are three things you should know about Deere’s autonomous 8R tractor and what they mean for sustainability.
1. It’s building on 20 years of technology
Tractors have been self-driving for a while for more consistent tilling, straighter and more accurate planting leading to better harvests and higher efficiencies. But these tractors still needed a farmer sitting in the driver’s seat even if they weren’t touching the wheel most of the time. Deere’s fully autonomous tractor finally releases the farmer from the cab. Farmers control the tractor from an app on their phone or computer and the tractor can position itself, drive the length of the field, turn around, maneuver around obstacles and come back for refueling all on its own using six pairs of cameras as well as AI and machine learning.
What does this mean for sustainability?
Instead of having to sit in a tractor for eight to 12 hours a day, a farmer has time to work on the projects that often get overlooked when they have to focus on the tactical parts of farming exclusively. Those projects could involve figuring out how to farm in more sustainable ways, which can take a lot of time and problem solving to uncover.
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