John Deere rolls out advanced autonomy kits at CES 2025

John Deere showcased its latest advancements in agricultural technology at the 2025 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. The company introduced the Next Generation Perception System autonomy retrofit kits. Designed for tractors and various implements, these kits integrate re-engineered cameras and rugged GPUs to move closer to fully autonomous farming by 2030.

John Deere’s new offerings respond to the persistent labor shortages affecting the agriculture sector in the U.S. and internationally. These retrofit kits, suitable for tractors and tillage tools, aim to allow continuous farming operations with minimal human intervention. The kits include newly designed camera arrays and NVIDIA processing units, utilizing Blue River Technology’s machine-learning algorithms to emulate human-like responses in machine operations.

The Next Generation Perception System, showcased at CES, targets several John Deere models. It offers model year 2022 and newer 9R and 9RX tractors, as well as 8R and 8RX tractors from model year 20.5 and newer, capable of performing tasks autonomously. Moreover, select tillage implements from 2017 onwards can be equipped with these kits, featuring additional lighting and GPS for fully autonomous operations. These kits are currently compatible only with John Deere implements, but future enhancements aim to broaden this compatibility by including third-party equipment.

John Deere’s autonomous kits are not limited to crop farming. The technology has been adapted for orchard sprayers and tractors, optimizing them for operations in narrow rows typical of vineyards and orchards. These specialized kits include fewer cameras but are supplemented with LiDAR sensors for precise 3D imaging of the environment.

The introduction of these autonomy kits is part of John Deere’s larger strategy to mitigate the impact of labor shortages in agriculture and related industries, such as commercial landscaping and construction. The company has extended its technology to include an autonomous electric mower and a driverless commercial dump truck, showcasing the potential of its autonomy kits beyond traditional farming.