John Deere Goes Fully Autonomous at CES 2025

John Deere is going all-in on full autonomy for its heavy-duty machinery used in agriculture, construction and commercial landscaping.

At CES in Las Vegas today, the company introduced several new autonomous machines aimed at those markets.

Deere launched its first autonomous technology at CES in 2022, which we wrote about at the time and at this CES, Deere greatly expanded on that initiative.

New products introduced included the autonomous 9RX tractor for large-scale agriculture, the autonomous 5ML orchard tractor for air blast spraying, the 460 P-Tier autonomous articulated dump truck for quarry operations, and the autonomous battery electric mower for commercial landscaping. 

“Our agriculture, construction and commercial landscaping customers all have work that must get done at certain times of the day and year, yet there is not enough available and skilled labor to do the work,” said Jahmy Hindman, chief technology officer at John Deere. 

“Autonomy can help address this challenge. That’s why we’re extending our technology stack to enable more machines to operate safely and autonomously in unique and complex environments. This will not only benefit our customers, but all of us who rely on them to provide the food, fuel, fiber, infrastructure and landscaping care that we depend on every day.”

Related:John Deere Takes High-Tech Farming to the Next Level

The autonomous machinery moved from its first generation, which used stereo cameras, to the next generation, now using numerous cameras around the machines and some with lidar sensors to identify objects ahead.

Deere is also testing an electric tractor for orchard spraying. 

One of the major challenges in the areas of farming and construction where many Deere products live is limited labor availability.

While some agriculture activities require a very large number of hours a day of field work, Deere plans to help automate these tasks using fully self-driving machinery.

Hindman said the average age of farmers is 58 and they can work 12 to 18 hours a day. He also said 86% of businesses struggle to fill open positions.