We have long stated that the development of driverless cars will be greatly advanced by commercial applications which are more viable at higher price points. Logistics is the field we have consistently had at the front of mind but it’s heartening to see these videos from CASCrop, which is a grant program designed to incentivize automation strategies for sectors of the farming industry.
It’s all part of their Autonomous Prime Mover program:
Just as tractors can be fitted with larger and smaller hydraulic systems with different implements for multiple operations, we’re developing technology so one vehicle can perform a variety of automated functions, saving cost on ownership. We call it Autonomous Prime Mover—APM for short. “Autonomous” means it drives and steers by itself, “prime” because it is the fundamental component and “mover” because it will transport other devices. Our vision for APM is commercial-grade affordable weed spraying, mechanical string thinning, and hitching other crop intelligence systems.
Hat Tip – Mohammad Poorsatep.
