What You Need to Know About Autonomous Machinery

By: Alex Gray

What once felt like a futuristic science fiction novel is here: Fully autonomous functions are coming to the farm. Skilled labor to operate heavy machinery can be hard to come by, and weather events are creating tighter windows for planting and harvest. Autonomy may be a solution to alleviate these pain points, with the possibility of running machinery 24 hours a day until work is complete.

Fuel savings are another possible outcome from autonomy. During AGCO’s autonomous tillage testing, the company found upwards of 7% to 8% in fuel efficiency savings by taking engine load from 100% to around 85%. While the completely driverless tractor will be new, each manufacturer developing this technology has introduced smaller-scale autonomous functions for many years. Common precision ag features already familiar and comfortable to farmers — such as guidance lines and turn automation — are the building blocks of full autonomy.