KUBOTA
BAYER
The six-cylinder engine develops the same power and torque as the diesel equivalent
Japan paves the way
for driverless machines ASIA
Japanese manufacturers are pressing ahead with the development of self-driving tractors, with the aim of driving down labour costs and tackling a shortage of staff. The average age of farmers in Japan keeps climbing and although land consolidation brings economies of scale, recruitment of highly skilled operators is becoming more difficult. Manufacturers such as Iseki, Kubota and
Yanmar have been encouraged to pursue the autonomy goal by government policy. They agree the “one operator, two machines” concept is the way to go initially for field operations. This is because it increases the productivity of
a single driver using conventional tractors modified to mimic the actions and movements of the operator’s machine. According to The Japan Times, new
government safety standards have paved the way for commercial use of self-driving kit and there are plans to establish a system by 2020 that allows farmers to operate such machines with only remote monitoring or other means. Kubota has already publicly demonstrated a
driverless tractor, auto rice transplanter and combine harvester and now has an autonomous tractor available to farmers in Japan.
Smart spraying system
optimises herbicide use EUROPE Engineering and electronics specialist Bosch is developing digital spraying technologies for selective applications of herbicides with the backing of Bayer CropScience. The two companies are to collaborate on a
three-year research programme to develop Smart Spraying, a concept using sensors, analytics and selective spraying systems to identify weeds and apply herbicides only
where they are needed across a field. Tobias Menne, head of digital farming at
Bayer, said the company is venturing into new territory with Bosch, combining different technologies to ensure herbicides are only applied in areas where they are necessary. The new partners envisage a system that includes a digital “field manager” to assess the overall weed situation in the field and recommend optimum treatment timing. Accurate identification of weeds and their
location is performed using several cameras across the working width of the sprayer and in a fraction of a second the optimum method for treating them is determined. In the final step, the appropriate quantity and herbicide mix is applied using the most appropriate application parameters, principally in terms of droplet size.
▶ FUTURE FARMING | 9 November 2017 7
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