LAS VEGAS: Self-driving vehicles are moving off the roads and onto the fields.

       Deere & Co, the largest farm equipment manufacturer in the world, unveiled a fully autonomous tractor yesterday, propelling it past rivals in the tech space.

       The company introduced the technology on its iconic 8 series tractor, which it says can be controlled from farmers’ mobile phones.

       Humans will need to transport the machine to a field and configure it for an autonomous run, but then they can let the tractor plant seeds, spray nutrients and harvest crops down to one inch of accuracy without touching a steering wheel, the company said.

       The announcement, made at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2022 in Las Vegas, thrusts the town of Moline, Illinois-based Deere further into so-called precision agriculture – a key way for farmers to improve harvests without using more labour. The autonomous tractor will be available for purchase later this year.

       “Without this self-driving technology, farming is incredibly exhausting mentally and physically,” Jahmy Hindman, Deere’s chief technology officer, said during the CES presentation.

       “You’ll find some of the most advanced robotic machines are being used on the farm to feed the world.” — Bloomberg