Self-Driving Tractors: John Deere Expands Autonomous Machinery Line

Citing a lack of skilled labor across the agricultural, construction and commercial landscaping sectors, John Deere recently unveiled four new autonomous machines for 2025.

On the agriculture front, an autonomous 9RX tractor will be targeted for larger operations. The tractor will feature a second-generation autonomy kit, 16 cameras to enable a 360-degree view of the field, and the ability to calculate tillage depth more accurately at larger distances.

Also, a new autonomous 5ML orchard tractor for air blast spraying is now available. Offered with a diesel engine, the tractor comes with Lidar sensors to address the dense canopies found in orchards. According to John Deere, an battery electric version of the 5ML will be on the market in the future.

For the construction sector, John Deere introduced the 460 P-Tier autonomous articulated dump truck, mainly for quarry operations.

Also, a battery electric mower for commercial landscaping has been released. The mower comes equipped with several cameras for a 360-degree view, allowing workers to focus on other aspects of the job.

Select machines will be autonomy ready from the factory and the second-generation perception system will be available as a retrofit kit for certain existing machines, providing customers with multiple paths to adoption.