From one tractor to many vehicles: autonomous farming proves what’s possible

Now any vehicle manufacturer can benefit from autonomy advantages, as proven by the first fully-autonomous farming tractor made possible through Nobleo Technology’s expertise in autonomy.

The impact of autonomous vehicles is already visible across industries. From agriculture to logistics, the benefits are clear: lower costs, around-the-clock operation and improved safety. Nobleo co-developed the world’s first fully-autonomous farming tractor, giving vehicle manufacturers direct access to this next-generation technology.

The benefits go far beyond farming. Autonomy is ready to reshape all kinds of machines — from domestic lawn mowers to combine harvesters, vacuum robots to oil-tank cleaners and delivery drones to jumbo jets. For many manufacturers, however, the technology has remained a technical and commercial hurdle. That is starting to change.

Proven building blocks for autonomous vehicle development

“We’re at the stage where all the Nobleo building blocks for self-decision-making vehicles have been tried, tested and proven,” says Tim Clephas, chief engineer at autonomy specialist Nobleo Technology. “More importantly, the technology is now highly affordable. Years of innovation in vision systems, AI, robotics and embedded software have made that possible. Any vehicle manufacturer can now access these tools and move ahead — fast.”

Autonomous farming: solving soil compaction with technology

One success story is the autonomous farming tractor built by AgXeed and co-developed with Nobleo. Not only does it deliver autonomy, but it also solves a major agricultural issue: soil compaction.

“The new tractor includes an ecosystem that stores field maps and path-planning strategies in the cloud,” says Lars Schmitz of AgXeed. “Because it drives the same lanes every year, soil compaction is minimised. And since the machine can work 24/7, we can now use a 5-tonne tractor instead of a 25-tonne one. That further reduces damage to the soil.”

Why Agxeed partnered with Nobleo for autonomous farming innovation

“Our portfolio includes many successful autonomous vehicles,” says Clephas. “This experience gives us a strong foundation for any new project. More importantly, clients choose Nobleo because we rely on open platforms and standardised subsystems, making it possible to create new autonomy systems based on proven components.”

“In many cases, we offer off-the-shelf elements,” he continues. “But of course, no autonomous vehicle is ever plug-and-play. Each has its own challenges. That’s why we work closely with our co-developers.” AgXeed brought deep knowledge of tractor technology. “They understand exactly how a machine should behave at the end of each section,” says Clephas. “Tools must lift, machines must turn, and sequences resume — precisely and efficiently. Furthermore, their team also has strong expertise in RTK GPS for high-precision manoeuvring.”

So why did they choose Nobleo? “Because we specialise in autonomy for non-car applications,” Clephas explains. “We advise on the best navigation system for each operating environment and offer unique know-how in sensing, signal processing and control algorithms.”

“For example, we know how to design an indirect-drive actuator that mimics the benefits of a direct-drive setup. And we help optimise actuator selection to balance high force against weight penalties. These are just a few of the reasons AgXeed wanted us involved.”

Another key factor is communication. “AgXeed values the fact that they can speak directly with our engineers. Not through a chain of emails, but in real time. That speeds up decisions and improves efficiency throughout the project.”

Vehicle autonomy: what’s next?

In the automotive world autonomous vehicle technology has been a major R&D topic for more than a decade. All major car manufacturers are working on driverless systems. However, the same core technologies are now enabling autonomy in many other industries — including construction, mining, agriculture, shipping and aerial transport.

These autonomy solutions are starting to transform the design and performance of mobile machines across the board.

“It are exciting times,” says Clephas. “Vehicle manufacturers who invest now will increase productivity, improve safety and strengthen their market position. And Nobleo is fully committed to helping them get there.”

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