The New Holland NHDrive concept autonomous tractor is a driverless machine which can perform a wide range of farming tasks.
Shown this week at the Farm Progress Show in Iowa, US, the tractors is fully autonomous and can be monitored and controlled via desktop computer, or a portable tablet.
The NHDrive can make full use of the periods of favourable weather for farming operations by working day and night.
Unlike the cab-less Case IH driverless concept vehicle which was shown at the same event, the New Holland is equipped with a cab that is completely identical to that of a standard New Holland T8.
This means that it can also be used for those operations where complete autonomy is not yet possible, such as front end loader work and high speed road transport.
“The NHDrive autonomous tractor offers us the opportunity to open up completely new horizons for future farming,” New Holland Agriculture brand president Carlo Lambro says.
“Farming will become increasingly responsible for ensuring the availability of food produced in an efficient and sustainable way.
“An autonomous tractor that is able to work day and night, helps solve the problem of a lack of specialised labour during the most intense seasons, makes 100 per cent use of the periods of favourable weather for various farming activities and maximises the rational use of resources.
“The NHDrive concept autonomous tractor represents the first and very important step towards a new model of responsible farming management on a global level.”
Farmers can access tractor and implement data wherever they are and a path-plotting screen shows the tractor’s progress, while another shows a live camera feed that shows two front and two rear views.
Another screen enables monitoring and modification of key machine and implement parameters such as engine speed, fuel levels and implement settings, including the seeding rate.
The NHDrive tractor has been equipped with a seeder, and is able to autonomously seed the next crop straight behind the combine.
All tractor and implement parameters can be continually monitored and controlled, and changes can be made if necessary.
The NHDrive tractor follows optimised in-field paths, which are automatically generated by the software, after having taken into account the size and shape of the field, any pre-existing obstacles and the width of the implement to be used.
If a new obstacle is detected, the tractor sends a message to the interactive interface and the person responsible for the farming operations will decide if and how the tractor can avoid or bypass the obstacle.
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