Case IH, the agricultural-machinery unit of CNH Industrial NV, unveiled what it describes as a concept robot tractor at the recent
Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa.
Unlike conventional models, the tractor has no cab for a driver; instead, it comes equipped with cameras, radar and GPS, allowing a farmer to remotely monitor planting and harvesting via an app on a tablet computer.
The 419hp machine has a maximum speed of 31mph, “making it much bigger in scale and power than other autonomous concepts.”
Case IH president Andreas Klauser said: “We’re not doing this just to be a novelty, we’re doing it to increase efficiency for our customers,” adding that dealing with the legal implications of self-driving tractors is one
reason why it could take three years before they are commercially available.
He did not disclose how much it has cost to build the tractor or how much it might sell for, if it ever moves beyond the concept stage.