Mahindra Unveils Its First Driverless Tractor In India; To Be Available Commercially From Early 2018
Mahindra plans to offer the driverless tractor technology across its range of tractors from 20 HP to 100 HP over a period of time
Indian automotive manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd on Tuesday (19 September) has displayed its first ever driverless tractor in the country. Developed at the Mahindra Research Valley, the driverless tractor is going to be available commercially from early 2018, in a phased manner.
Mahindra plans to offer the driverless tractor technology across its range of tractors from 20 HP to 100 HP over a period of time.
This innovation will change the future of farming by increasing productivity, leading to increased food production to feed the growing needs of the world.
Dr Pawan Goenka, Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd said, “Our tractor R & D has always been at the forefront of pioneering cutting edge solutions. Today’s display of the driverless tractor is another proud moment for us, as it opens up new possibilities in farming. We are happy to dedicate this innovative mechanization for the global farming community, in line with our Farming 3.0 proposition”.
Rajesh Jejurikar, President, Farm Equipment Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd said, “Today the need for farm mechanisation is higher than ever before, due to labour shortage and the need to improve productivity and farm produce yield. Coupled with our ‘DiGiSENSE’ technology that we launched last year, the driverless tractor offers a distinct advantage to the Indian farmer by bringing an unprecedented level of intelligence to the tractor”.
This technology will be deployed across Mahindra tractor platforms in due course of time. It will also be deployed across international markets such as USA and Japan.
The driverless tractor boasts of several features:
Autosteer – GPS based technology that enables a tractor to travel along a straight line
Auto-headland turn – Enables the tractor to orient itself along adjacent rows for continuous operation without any steering input from the farmer
Auto-implement lift – Feature in the tractor that automatically lifts the work tool from the ground at the end of a row and lowers the tool after the tractor has oriented itself for operation at the next row
Skip passing - This technology feature enables the tractor to steer to the next row for continuous operation without any intervention of the driver
Geofence lock - Prevents tractor from going outside the boundaries of the farm
Control via Tablet User Interface – Enables the farmer to program various inputs needed to farm efficiently. Also offers controls to prevent the tractor veering off from its intended path or desired operation. He can also control the tractor remotely via a tablet
Remote Engine Start Stop - Ability to stop the engine and hence, bring the tractor to a complete STOP if needed in cases of emergency