Robot tractor wins award

Kubota’s take on an autonomous tractor, ‘Agri Robo’, has received an award in the ‘Agricultural Management Solution’ category at the recent FIMA show in Spain.

Its integrated remote control system allows a farmer to monitor up to two autonomous Kubota tractors, saving time, money, and resources.

The management operations software was developed by Kubota, along with the Japanese company, Topcon, and the Kansas State University. Its main goal is to speed up autonomous tractor management in real time and thus improve and ease farmers’ work.

The robot tractor has the functions of conventional tractors, such as the L-series, and uses information from a previous accurate planning of its tasks. A combination of its sonar and scanner means that it can spot and avoid any obstacles.

Entry-level control console

LH Agro has been announced as the sole official UK distributor of Topcon Agriculture's precision farming equipment.

This includes the recently launched Topcon touchscreen control console, the X23, which slots in beside the existing range of X-series control consoles – such as the top of the range 12.1-inch X35, the X23 and its 8.4-inch touchscreen – and is positioned as an 'entry-level' option.

The X23 runs Topcon’s Horizon software – a simple, icon-based operating system which is easy to use and offers operators the option to create bespoke, user-defined screens and is easy to set-up on a range tractors, sprayers and combine harvesters.

In standard form, it has manual guidance but can be upgraded to auto-steer, application control, auto-section control and variable rate control as the customer’s requirements grow. It can also be configured to work with all ISOBUS-enabled machines and implements.

Richard Reed, managing director of LH Agro, said: “The X23 can be used as a standalone, all-in-one control system for all ISOBUS compatible machines and offers functions such as variable rate application and section control of up to 10 sections – features which enable users to eliminate coverage gaps and overlaps, in turn reducing input wastage whilst ensuring optimal crop protection."