Joseph White

DETROIT (Reuters) – John Deere (NYSE:) & Co said on Tuesday it will start commercial delivery this year of technology that enables a tractor to till a field without an operator in the cab, a first for the top North American tractor manufacturer after years of effort to automate farm work.

Deere will launch a small-volume production this year, supplying systems for between 12 and 20 machines. Then, the company plans to scale up its operations, Jahmy Hindman, Deere’s chief technology officer told Reuters. He said that the company is considering whether it should sell, lease, or offer technology to farmers as a subscription. This could enable for future upgrades to software and hardware.

Hindman stated that the cameras and computers needed for automated tilling could be mounted on an existing tractor or tiller machine within a matter of days.

Deere, and other equipment manufacturers such as Caterpillar (NYSE) invested heavily in technology for automating off-highway vehicles, such as farm tractor and mining machinery. Finding workers for tractor operation is an ongoing problem in the agricultural sector. This has been made worse by the recent pandemic.

Deere’s launch commercially is an important step on a long journey for the farming equipment industry. It began with satellite positioning, and then went hands-free with no driver in the vehicle. Hindman explained that Deere has been using fully autonomous tractors since three or four years.

Although automated tractor do not need to confront pedestrians, urban chaos, or safety regulations, Hindman noted that self-driving vehicles must still be capable of navigating accurately and avoiding obstacles.

Deere will initially use stereo cameras at the front and back of its automated tractor. The cameras can be sent images via an app on a smartphone to farmers or operators. An operator can bring the tractor to the field with his smartphone and tap the screen. The machine will follow a pre-programmed route.

A computerized vision system installed in the tractor will track the tiller. It will also have mirrors on the shanks which churn the stubble. Remote operators can see the changes in reflections from mirrors if one of the shanks is hit by a rock.

Hindman stated that Deere is currently working to automate other farm operations. Spraying will likely be the next area of automation.