John Deere releases new autonomous machines and technology

John Deere has introduced the second generation of its autonomy kit, which integrates advanced computer vision, AI and camera technology to enhance machine navigation in various environments. This development comes in response to widespread labor shortages across multiple industries, the company said at CES 2025.

The agricultural sector faces a significant challenge, with the American Farm Bureau Federation estimating that approximately 2.4 million farm jobs must be filled annually. Similarly, the construction industry struggles with labor shortages, with 88% of contractors reporting difficulties finding skilled workers. The commercial landscaping sector is also affected, with 86% of business owners struggling to fill open positions.

“Our agriculture, construction and commercial landscaping customers all have work that must get done at certain times of the day and year, yet there is not enough available and skilled labor to do the work,” said Jahmy Hindman, chief technology officer at John Deere. “Autonomy can help address this challenge. That’s why we’re extending our technology stack to enable more machines to operate safely and autonomously in unique and complex environments. This will not only benefit our customers but all of us who rely on them to provide the food, fuel, fiber, infrastructure and landscaping care that we depend on every day.”

New autonomy kit

The new autonomy kit is being implemented across various machines, including the 9RX tractor for large-scale agriculture, the 5ML orchard tractor for air blast spraying, the 460 P-Tier autonomous articulated dump truck for quarry operations and an autonomous battery electric mower for commercial landscaping. These machines feature advanced camera systems, lidar sensors and improved depth calculation capabilities, allowing for more efficient and precise operations.

John Deere offers multiple adoption paths for users, with select machines being autonomy-ready from the factory and retrofit kits available for certain existing machines. The autonomous machines are managed through the John Deere Operations Center Mobile, a cloud-based platform that allows users to control and monitor the machines remotely, access live video and data and receive notifications about job quality or machine health issues.