Kinze Manufacturing has unveiled an innovative solution to increase productivity on the farm - the Kinze Autonomy Project.

The technology, which is the first of its kind in row crop production worldwide, utilizes autonomous agricultural equipment to complete many tasks on the farm with minimal direct human input.

"We're excited to introduce the first truly autonomous row crop solution in the world on this scale," said Susanne Kinzenbaw Veatch, vice president and chief marketing officer at Kinze. "This technology could be used to do a variety of tasks, including planting, nourishing, maintaining and harvesting crops."

As a project more than two years in the making, Kinze performed extensive obstacle detection testing to ensure the accuracy and safety of the autonomous equipment.

Beginning in a laboratory environment and then in the field, Kinze engineers simulated real-world scenarios to ensure the equipment would detect objects often encountered in the field, such as fence posts, stand pipes, farm animals and other vehicles.

Similar autonomous technology has been used since the 1990s in many other industries, including mining, construction and the military. "Some simple forms of autonomy are used in rice production and orchard operations," Veatch explains. "However, until now, no other manufacturer associated with row crop production has offered truly autonomous technology like this."

The Kinze Autonomy Project is designed to reduce the need for skilled operators by taking the human element out of the tractor cab. Kinze will market this technology to help growers increase their productivity by allowing them to focus their time and attention elsewhere while performing cursory monitoring of the Kinze autonomous equipment.