John Deere has once again reserved its latest technical developments for the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vagas, an event that is a showcase for digital and electronic innovation across the whole spectrum of consumer goods rather than an agricultural shop window.
By choosing this platform to introduce its latest tech products, the company is firmly indicating that metal bashing will only be one of its future functions, and it is looking to broaden its base into the digital technology sphere where margins are much healthier and the cash flow more predictable.
There were five major items that the company revealed at the exhibition and although all are presented to create the maximum interest and impress with the company’s forward thinking, there is a common underlying theme across the board.
Autonomous tractors
The 9RX tractors sit at the top of the John Deere range and are squarely aimed at large-scale agriculture.
It is to these tractors that Deere has fitted its second-generation autonomy kit, featuring 16 individual cameras arranged in pods to enable a 360° view of the field.
The company claims that farmers can step away from the machine and focus their time on other important jobs as the advanced autonomy kit also calculates depth more accurately at larger distances, allowing the tractor to pull more equipment and drive faster.
There appears to be two major functions here that have benefitted from Deere’s engineers, navigation and implement setting, yet it is not immediately clear how adding even more cameras is going to automate a tractor without the software to handle the input and to create a logical response.
Elsewhere in John Deere’s portfolio, the Autonomous 5ML orchard tractor for air blast spraying has received some upgrades with extra lidar sensors.
Orchard spraying is a power-hungry job that requires the operator to be fully protected by filter arrays, so removing the driver from the cab is a sensible move and automation of running between vines or tree rows is not so involved as open field operations.
John Deere battery power
Here there appears to be some progress for it is claimed that the E-Power prototype, an autonomy-ready, zero-tailpipe-emissions tractor, will deliver a relatively high 130hp output, but what is not being stated is for how long that output is available.
Simply using bigger motors to provide more power is not the problem with tractors, it is making that power available for long periods that is the issue, and the company has yet to indicate a time range or indeed the weight of the machine.
It is not just a question of battery longevity, off-road use will require special battery design and performance, durability and thermal management according to the company.
More frequent peak power and output will require higher cooling capability and more robust cell chemistry, Deere has said, adding that harsh working conditions with dust, dirt, foreign fluids and vibrations will require higher standards for electrical connections and battery housing.
For the time being, it is suggested that the tractor is intended for those in specialty crop and livestock sectors rather in the field, as the prototype is undergoing trials in US apple orchards.
Autonomous electric mower
Autonomy is already well established for domestic lawns through the use of both GPS and a buried boundary cable.
John Deere though, has gone one step further and extended the concept to commercial mowers which use the same camera technology as other Deere autonomous machines, but on a reduced scale.
Using the second-generation autonomy kit, the company has also developed an articulated dump truck which can handle the repetitive task of transporting material around quarries, which are, as a rule, closed off from the public with well defined roadways which change in a predictable manner.
The John Deere autonomy kit will be available pre-installed on new machines and as retrofit kits for certain existing machines providing a degree of flexibility in the adoption of the technology.
The small print
As to how the it will all work, it is necessary for the autonomous machines to be managed via John Deere Operations Centre, the company’s cloud-based platform.
Using the app, operators have access to live video, images, data and metrics, and the ability to adjust various factors like speed.
In the event of any job quality anomalies or machine function issues, users will be notified remotely so they can make necessary adjustments.
While all this technology may sound good and futuristic, a basic feature of it all is that it requires a subscription- based service, moving John Deere’s business model to one of a recurring revenue stream rather than simply selling capital items.
While there may be many advantages to the customer there, it is still undeniable that management and ownership of the machines that are relied upon for farm operations will no longer be in the hands of the farmer and that may be a deal breaker for many.
