New Holland Unveils Autonomous Orchard Tractor
New Holland has developed an autonomous to help orchard and vineyard owners address severe labor shortages. Photo courtesy CNH Industrial
HANNOVER, Germany—New Holland has unveiled an autonomous tractor at the Agritechnica trade show here. The R4 is designed to help orchard and vineyard owners address severe labor shortages.
The machine, which is controlled via a combination of GPS, lidar and cameras, was developed by engineers at the CNH R&D Centre in Modena, Italy, and the New Holland Centre of Excellence for Specialty Harvesting in Coëx, France. It can execute repetitive, lower value tasks where accurate and safe work does not depend on human presence, such as inter-row mowing, tilling and spraying.
The R4 features suspended rubber-track drive units to maximize traction and minimize compaction, in addition to a continuously-variable electric drivetrain. Targeted primarily at high-end narrow vineyards, the machine is powered via a 40-kilowatt-hour battery pack.
“Our goal was to create fully autonomous machines requiring only remote supervision,” says Thierry Le Briquer, grape, olive and coffee global manager at New Holland. “R4 is a sustainable, intelligent and adaptable robotic solution that offers exceptional value and a lower total cost of ownership compared to current alternatives. Built with proven components from within our ecosystem, [it] gives farmers a reliable, future-ready advantage as they look to boost productivity and meet today’s labor and environmental challenges.”
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