John Deere announced at a press conference ahead of the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show that a fully autonomous tractor will be available to farmers later this year. The tractor will be able to drive itself by way of six pairs of stereo cameras, which detect obstacles by processing its images through “a deep neural network.” Farmers will be able to monitor the vehicle via live video, images and metrics as well as adjust its settings using John Deere’s mobile operations software. Deere cited the need to feed a growing global population in a news release, and said the autonomous tractor will help achieve that as farmers manage less available land, fewer skilled workers, and variable weather and soil conditions. Western Iowa Today reports the new farming implement will be built in Iowa at John Deere’s Waterloo plant.
