Improving Productivity through Autonomous Technology
John Deere has made a name for itself by innovating machines that make repetitive tasks easier through technology. It began with John Deere, a blacksmith, revolutionizing farming with the invention of the self-scouring steel plow in 1837. Now, the namesake green and yellow machines are ubiquitous throughout the world. However, the company offers more than farm equipment as construction and commercial landscaping machines are also a big part of their portfolio.
The company’s press conference at the Consumer Electronics Show, CES, held today in Las Vegas, Nevada, touched on the company’s latest work in these technologies.
Safety First: Automated and Semi-Automated Machinery
John Deere, at its Technology and Innovation Center in Champagne, Illinois, has been developing the use of artificial intelligence, automation and connectivity for integration into its machines. Jahmy Hindman, senior vice president and chief technology officer, says: “Safety is our first goal as we will not build any machine that would hurt anyone or anything.”
This technology is being adapted into existing tractors, trucks and mowers in three key industries—agriculture, construction and commercial landscaping. Each has its own unique factors that engineers and programmers need to consider before any machine can run safely with minimal human supervision.
Labor
The common thread running through these industries is the constant need to hire and retain skilled workers. Repetitive and monotonous tasks such as driving a tractor for eight hours a day begins to wear on even the most dedicated worker. When full autonomy finally arrives, the demand for the number of skilled workers will not be so great, and those that are employed will have a more satisfying job. Automation offers another important element as the machines can possibly run 24/7, making them more efficient and cost effective. No sick or vacation days for the computer-run tractor!
Concerns that automated tractors will be taking jobs away from humans needs to be balanced with an eye-opening statistic that in the agriculture and construction industries, John Deere says “86% of businesses struggle to fill open positions.” John Deere is convinced its advancements in automated and semi-automated tractors and other machines offer one solution to a tight skilled labor market.
Agriculture
The closest most people come to farming is whizzing by on the highway and seeing these iconic green and yellow tractors, combines and threshers rumbling through a field or orchard. What they may not be noticing is more and more of those machines will not have a human operating the controls. Welcome to the world of farm autonomy.
More efficient and safer than a human
A farmer sitting in a tractor for hours and hours working a field is being replaced by a semi-automated agricultural machine with no human behind the wheel. The goal is to practice sustainable agriculture and produce higher yields. Similar to what is happening in the automotive world, farm machines will become more reliant on state-of-the-art technology with automation through cameras and sensors, satellite navigation, data collection and artificial intelligence.
Two factors for a successful crop are weather and the availability of labor. These affect when to till the soil, plant, fertilize, spray for insects and harvest. The famous 1897 quote from writer Charles Dudley Warner—“Everyone complains about the weather, but no one does anything about it.”—can’t be argued. However, when it comes to labor, the people at John Deere are doing something about it.
The large-scale tractors used for tilling, planting, fertilizing, spraying for insects and, lastly, harvesting, have been equipped with ultra-fast processors and as many as 16 individual cameras that offer a 360º view of the machine and its surroundings. The cameras sense several elements, including depth of the soil, with long-range, wide-vision depth perception. These data allow the machine to work at increased speeds as obstacles can be read and processed faster.
When utilizing automated and semi-automated tractors, these tasks are completed in a matter of days, which is crucially important. With a short 10-day window to plant a crop, due to changing weather conditions, accuracy and speed are key factors.
John Deere has developed several machines that can, at any desired interval or depth, plant a seed and then immediately after it hits the soil, add a squirt of fertilizer and then cover it up. John Deere calls its system See & Spray. It was developed by Blue River Technology. In the case of corn, it will drop a seed every six inches at two inches deep. It’s all done through GPS mapping for geofencing. Imagine this automated planting process going on for hours at a time with precision and accuracy—day or night—with minimal human input.
Giving the farmer a break
Orchards are a different challenge as the rows are defined by trees of varying maturity and potentially include all sorts of foreign objects for an autonomous tractor to deal with. While in an open field, communications are unobstructed between the tractor and satellite. In an orchard, tree canopies block the signal to the tractor as it rumbles along. To address this, John Deere has mounted cameras and lidar sensors low on the tractor.
Lidar works by sending out pulses of laser light and measuring how long it takes the light to reflect back. The time it takes for the light to return is used to calculate the distance between the lidar system and the object it might hit, including information about the shape of an object. Whether it’s a rock, fallen branch, piece of irrigation equipment or a wild animal, when sensing an unfamiliar object, the tractor will come to an abrupt and complete stop.
Construction
John Deere is introducing automated and semi-automated machines into construction, initially focusing on mining. Its ADT (articulated dump truck) is currently in service and can haul 92,000 pounds of material. John Deere added stereo cameras and sensors to the roof and sides, along with Starlink satellite connectivity. When fully operational, the ADT can be programmed to work autonomously in a quarry without a human behind the wheel. It can also be programmed to operate up to eight hours before needing to stop for refueling.
Commercial Landscaping
Forrest Gump made operating a riding mower look pretty cool, but in reality it can be tedious, repetitive and monotonous. John Deere is in the final testing stage of its all-electric, fully autonomous lawn mower. This mower, aimed at the $15 billion commercial landscaping industry, utilizes the same software and hardware used on the agriculture and construction machines.
Taking on the lawn without a driver
This emissions-free, mulching mower has four pairs of stereo cameras to judge depth, distance and elevation. Weighing only 1,250 pounds and deploying a small footprint, it can operate up to 10 hours on a full charge. The electric mower’s silent running means landscaping crews can get an early morning start without bothering nearby neighbors of golf courses or industrial parks.
Tim Lewis, senior product engineer at John Deere, told us: “This is really important, as it is the first battery electric commercial mower in our family of products. We want to serve our customers in the professional landscaping business by helping with the challenges ahead of them. Primarily, it will fill labor gaps and help their business to be more efficient and productive, giving them another tool in their tool box.”
Brad Powers, director of engineering at Blue River Technology and the autonomy lead on the autonomous mower, said: “The mower is using our Generation 2 autonomy stack we have been developing at Deere for the past multiple decades.” Powers went on to say, “We are not ready to announce a release date yet, but will be engaging in customer testing in 2025.”
Farm Machinery and Automobile Technology
If you have driven a late model car, SUV or truck recently (like those reviewed on Clean Fleet Report) you have experienced the same type of technology as found in John Deere’s machinery. The major difference is that on a farm, with the boundaries and variables of an agricultural field, mining quarry, or lawn, are finite; out on streets and highways they are infinite. This makes the adoption of advanced driver-assistance systems more challenging for auto manufacturers, but does not take away anything from what John Deere engineers have and will be accomplishing.
Observations: Unseen Technology To Increase Efficiency
The importance of increasing the widespread use of automated and semi-automated machines cannot be overstated, especially when they are powered by zero-emission technology or renewable fuels. It may seem John Deere is investing in these technologies purely for its own benefit, but the feedback they get by working closely with their customers is what is driving the continued development of technologies that address labor issues and efficiency while increasing production.
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Story by John Faulkner. Photos by John Faulkner and John Deere.
[See image gallery at cleanfleetreport.com]The post News: John Deere Takes the Man Out of the Machine first appeared on Clean Fleet Report.
