Technology is advancing rapidly and has a huge impact on all aspects of human life. Advances in technology enable automation in almost all fields, including various industrial sectors, automotive is one of them.
In the next few years, the agricultural sector will also become more and more advanced while the experience will be altered by utilizing the latest technology. Kubota, a Japanese tractor manufacturer, recently took the trend by introducing the Kubota X Tractor AI Robot Concept.
Making its debut at an exhibition in Kyoto, the presence of the Kubota X Tractor AI Robot Concept is also marking the celebration of the 1300th anniversary of Kubota. The company chooses to reveal the concept of the Kubota X Tractor to address the challenges facing farmers.
Kubota X Tractor AI Robot Concept is an autonomous electric tractor to plow fields and help farmers in the fields. The fully autonomous tractor is equipped with artificial intelligence. While the electric power train is combined with an in-wheel motor, a combination of lithium-ion batteries and solar cells.
Kubota claims to be one of the first companies to introduce smart technology into the agricultural business, which aims to address the problems of modern farmers such as labor shortages and low operating efficiency. Kubota showed that they had exhibited the concept of “Dream Tractor”, which brought together with technology from that time, at the Japan Exposition, held in Osaka in 1970.
According to the company, their latest Kubota X Tractor AI Robot Concept can operate without human assistance. The wheel design is like the one in a tank, with the ability to penetrate all-terrain and uneven terrain. The height of the track can be adjusted or lowered according to the conditions.
Autonomous driving is an obligatory choice according to the company, given that “in Japan, an increasing number of farmers withdraw themselves due to aging and the average scale of companies continues to grow for efficient land management”.
On the case that more traction is needed, the Kubota X Tractor AI Robot Concept suspension will drop automatically to lower the center of gravity. Meanwhile, when operating on plants, the tractor will adjust the height of the ground clearance which increases the suspension.
The technological equipment of X tractor cross uses a combination of GPS, on-board sensors, cameras for a driving system based on artificial intelligence. The combination allows the vehicle to monitor various factors such as climate and crop growth rate.
The machine can even make decisions: when to go out and perform activities such as sowing, harvesting or tillage. Environmental data obtained from operating tractors can be automatically shared with other machines and managed centrally to plan business activities.
The rear-drive motor powered by electric powertrain allows the Kubota X Tractor AI Robot Concept to change the speed of the four crawlers to reduce the rotation radius of the autonomous tractor, making it easier to maneuver on various types of land.
This modernization is expected to increase agricultural productivity while reducing production costs. While the trend tends to focus on passenger vehicles, autonomous drive technology is expected to change many sectors throughout the industry, including trucks, construction, and of course, agriculture.
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