IT'S A tractor, but not as we know – could this be commonplace on UK farms in a decade's time?

Machinery giant, Case IH, unveiled this 'robot' concept vehicle at the Farm Progress Show, in Boone, Iowa. It is a cabless Case IH row crop tractor that can operate a wide range of field implements, without the need for a driver.

“In many parts of the world, finding skilled labour during peak use seasons is a constant challenge for our customers,” said Case IH's brand president, Andreas Klauser. “While we offer auto-steering and telematics on our equipment today for remote management of farm machinery and employees, this autonomous tractor concept demonstrates how our customers and their employees could remotely monitor and control machines directly.

"This technology will offer our customers greater operational efficiencies for tasks such as tillage, planting, spraying and harvesting.”

The concept was created to validate technology and collect customer feedback and is based on a Case IH Magnum tractor, with reimagined styling. It has a fully interactive interface to allow remote monitoring of pre-programmed operations.

This onboard system automatically accounts for implement widths and plots the most efficient paths depending on the terrain, obstructions and other machines in use in the same field. A remote operator can supervise and adjust pathways via a desktop computer or portable tablet interface.

It uses radar, lidar (light imaging, detection, and ranging) and onboard video cameras, to sense stationary or moving obstacles in its path and will stop on its own until the operator, notified by audio and visual alerts, assigns a new path. It will also stop immediately if GPS signal or position data is lost, or if the manual stop button is pushed.

Multiple machines can be controlled by one person via a mobile tablet interface and the tractors can work as one fleet or simultaneously in multiple sub-fleets assigned to separate fields, each assigned with pre-programmed maps and prescriptions.

Although it is seen as a 'concept' tractor, Case IH said the technology could also function in a standard cabbed tractor where it could use real-time weather and satellite data to optimally apply crop inputs such as nitrogen, herbicides, or fungicides.