Agricultural engineers around the world are developing robotic tractors. Autonomous vehicles equipped with state-of-the-art computers, lasers, sensors, GPS systems and machine vision technology are closer to reality than most people realize.

“A number of commercial autonomous tractors are already available on the market,” says Wim Symens, program leader for energy-efficient machines at Flanders Mechatronics Technology Centre. “Mostly, they are programmed to perform some particular tasks, such as driving straight lines, making a headland turn or following another (manned) vehicle. For this, they are tuned once during commissioning, yet do not exhibit the capability of learning and adapting to various conditions.”