Farm Progress

Kinze Manufacturing demonstrated the autonomous row crop technology it is working on to allow robotic operation of tractors and other vehicles in a field.

Karen McMahon 2, Editor

July 29, 2011

1 Min Read
<p> A driverless tractor pulls a Kinze grain cart.</p>

 

Kinze Manufacturing unveiled autonomous row-crop technology to its dealers and media at an event held near Williamsburg, IA. This is the first such robotic technology introduced in the U.S. for row crops.

The technology allows robotic control of vehicles. In the example shown by Kinze, a tractor pulling a grain cart was operated robotically to allow grain to be unloaded precisely and efficiently from the combine into the cart.

Kinze also tested this technology to plant.

Here's how it works: The equipment is driven to a field and then allowed to operate robotically. An operator in another vehicle can give commands to the equipment. For example, a combine operator tells the grain cart to come to the combine for loading grain. The cart and tractor pull in parallel to the combine and maintain that position as grain is unloaded into it on-the-go.  When the combine is empty, the operator tells the tractor and cart to return to a predetermined location until the combine needs to unload again.

The robotic equipment has technology like GPS and sensors to keep it from running into other equipment.

The technology Kinze is using was developed by Jaybridge Robotics, Cambridge, MA. The company reports that it serves commercial, government/military and university clients. It provides software and engineering design consulting services to the robotics industry.

Kinze has been testing the equipment with Jaybridge for two years. See a video of the robotic operation of the tractor at www.jaybridge.com. Or view a Farm Press interview with Kinze Chief Operating Officer Brian McKown, in which he discusses the Kinze Autonomy Project, at www.deltafarmpress.com.

The technology is not yet available for purchase from Kinze.  

About the Author(s)

Karen McMahon 2

Editor

Karen McMahon has been editor of Farm Industry News since 2000. She joined the staff in 1998 as senior editor and previously worked on the company’s National Hog Farmer magazine.

Karen grew up on a crop and livestock farm outside of LeMars, IA, and earned her journalism degree from South Dakota State University. After college, she worked on the local newspaper as farm editor and later started writing for various livestock and crop magazines.

She has written extensively about trends and technology related to corn and soybean production, the equipment needed for row-crop farming, and livestock production.   

Subscribe to receive top agriculture news
Be informed daily with these free e-newsletters

You May Also Like