Self-Driving Tractors - Future of Farming

A self-driving tractor in a green field with crops.

Posted By:Infra Bazaar



The current agricultural farm equipment is going through a paradigm shift from cart driven to self-driven tractors. Farming sector is going through rapid revolution by using driverless tractors. These self-driving tractors are set to bring about a massive shift in the current agriculture scene.

History,

Frank W. Andrew first conceived the idea of a driverless tractor, around the year 1940 he invented his own tractor. Ford also developed a driverless tractor by the year 1950 however; they could not manufacture and sell it commercially. Few problems were to be fixed with regard to operation. The technology for these self-driving tractors has been evolving since all these years through multiple approaches like full autonomy and supervised autonomy.

Leading Manufacturers

There are four major players in the market who manufacture this product. They are John Deere, Fendt, Case IH, and Autonomous Tractor Corporation (ATC). There are other manufacturers also based in different nations. All of them have been trying to come up with their own prototype of a driverless tractor using varied technologies.

Upcoming Manufacturers, c

From Mahindra Research Valley in Chennai, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. has developed its first ever driverless tractor in India. This agricultural innovation aims to curtail human involvement, increase the food production and meet the growing needs of the world. The objective is to achieve these by redefining the mechanization process for a global farmer.

At the launch of the driverless tractor, Rajesh Jejurikar, President, Farm Equipment Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra, said: “Today the need for farm mechanization is higher than ever before, due to the labor shortage and the need to improve productivity and farm produce yield. Coupled with our ‘DiGiSENSE’ technology that we launched last year, the driverless tractor offers a distinct advantage to the Indian farmer by bringing an unprecedented level of intelligence to the tractor.”    

Features of the Driverless Tractor

  • Auto-implement lift: This feature makes the tractor lift the work tools from the ground at the end of a row and lower it after the tractor is ready for the operation at the next row.
  • Autosteer: This GPS based technology enables a tractor to travel along a straight line.
  • Auto-implement lift: This feature makes the tractor lift the work tools from the ground at the end of a row and lower it after the tractor is ready for the operation at the next row.
  • Skip Passing: This feature helps the tractor to maneuver to the next row for continuous operation without any involvement of the driver.
  • Auto-headland turn: This feature helps the tractor to orient itself along adjacent rows for continuous operation without any steering input from the farmer.

Apart from these unique features the driverless tractor also has safety features like control via tablet user interface, Geofence lock and remote engine stop-start. 

Another jewel in the crowd of inventions,

Many young minds are also working to revolutionize the farming sector. One such example is Yogesh Nagar a young lad from Rajasthan who recently invented a remote to control monitor his tractor. The source of inspiration behind his invention was his ailing father. His father’s health has deteriorated because of spending long hours on it. Yogesh spent Rs. 47,000/- on buying the tools and equipment needed to develop this remote. The remote has powerful range covering a distance of up to one and a half kilometers. This is not Yogesh’s first invention; the curious mind of a 19 year old boy has developed 27 more pieces which are note worthy of a research. 

This is how the farming sector is re-shaping; it is taking the driver out of the seat. Driverless tractors are all set to make a foray in farming, which in turn will for sure make farming a more lucrative occupation while reducing the health hazard of farmers.



#DriverlessTractors #AgricultureRevolution #SelfDrivingTractors #LeadingManufacturers #UpcomingManufacturers #MahindraResearchValley #YogeshNagar #FarmEquipment #Productivity