This is the second part of a two-part article on the autonomous tractor technology being built in Fargo. Read part 1 here.
Make any tractor autonomous
According to Kraig Shulz, CEO of Autonomous Tractor Corp., an unforeseen benefit to the development of the autonomous tractor is that they can transfer the technology and have it retro-fitted onto any tractor they want. They call it Auto Drive.
“Auto Drive can be put on, for example a John Deere, and it will make that tractor autonomous,” he said.
Another project they are developing is something called E-Drive. This is particularly useful for recycling old tractors to make them like new, Schulz said, and it involves ripping out the entire drive frame in an old frame, and putting in twin diesel engines and motor engines.
“It’s a third of the cost of a new tractor, and makes it better,” Schulz said. “30% less fuel emissions, 30% less carbon emissions, and runs for a very, very long time. You can repair it yourself.”
The Spirit, he said, combines the E-Drive tech and the Auto-drive tech, to create one. Ultimate. Tractor.
Autonomy in Ag is imminent
That day on Zimmerman farm as they showed off the Spirit’s test run, a man named Gordy Lefebvre watched in awe.
Lefebvre is a 76-year-old tractor mechanic who has been inspecting a variety of tractors for over 21 years, he said. When he first heard about the autonomous tractor idea, he said he didn’t believe it.
“I didn’t think it would work,” he said. “But it does.”
Having watched the design of tractors continue to change over time, Lefebvre said he can see the value in a tractor like the Spirit.
“It saves time and labor of 100 men,” he said. “It’d be so much easier to use on a farm. You could be sitting in your office doing other things, or getting planter ready, and tractor’s working the field and you’d have nobody in there.”
The idea of autonomous tractors is not a new one. For years, Schulz said, large companies like AgCo and John Deere have been claiming to release autonomous products – Terry Anderson himself worked on an autonomous tractor for Deere back in the 70s, he said. The difference is that they still have not released anything, perhaps due to a lack of cost-efficiency, Schulz said.
Other companies rely heavily on GPS technology, which Schulz sees as an unreliable way to monitor a heavy autonomous tractor. Instead of GPS, the Spirit uses a long-range navigation system (LRNS), that is patented by the company, Schulz said.
Eventually, the team hopes to have the tractors manufactured locally, ideally from somewhere in Fargo.
As for our friend Gordy Lefebvre, the whole idea is still hard to wrap his head around.
“I might see it as common in my day – depends on how long I live,” he said with a chuckle. “If I do like my mother I’ll be fine.”
Photos courtesy of Autonomous Tractor Corp.
