More automation waiting in wings at Case IH

CNH’s Industrial Tech Days event last month in Phoenix served as a pre-launchpad of sorts for the equipment firm’s pending launches in the farm autonomy and automation market segments.

Commercialization for the new products will be “announced at a later date,” the company said in a release Dec. 12. Scott Harris, Case IH global brand president, said they all stem from “a clear need for farmers and the industry to increase productivity.”

Said new products include a new “autonomous tillage solution” using Raven Autonomy technology to power an advanced perception and sensing system, along with AFS Soil Command tillage automation for “ultimate agronomic and machine control of the implement.”

The new tillage system “provides site-specific tillage prescriptions to deliver the right soil management practice for every inch of soil,” the company said, and will offer “increased productivity with consistent agronomic performance and richer data insights.”

Also on deck at a later date will be a “driver assist harvest solution” which “synchronizes combine and tractor functionality,” also using Raven Autonomy tech.

The driver assist system is expected to allow the farmer to co-ordinate the path and speed of the tractor during an “unload on the go” operation, keeping the tractor “perfectly in sync” with the combine during unloading.

“Farmer benefits include more-efficient operations, automated processes to reduce the need for skilled labour, less fatigue and less spilled grain,” the company said.

CNH’s Tech Days presentations also included its plans for an electric tractor prototype, which will feature a Case IH model at release.

That zero-emissions tractor product will also include autonomous features, the company said, and will be developed as part of CNH’s previously announced collaboration with Monarch Tractor.