Returning to its roots in farming, Doosan Bobcat unveiled the AT450X enabled by Agtonomy, its first autonomous, electric articulating tractor at CES 2024.
The battery-powered AT450X combines Bobcat’s articulating tractor with Agtonomy’s software and embedded-computing technology to support emissions-free and autonomous operation of time-intensive tasks.
The agriculture industry is a significant part of Bobcat’s history. The original skid steer machine invented by Cyril and Louis Keller was put together to assist a turkey farmer looking for a machine to help clean out a barn.
“Here we are over 65 years later and we're using a different type of vehicle to solve another type of agricultural issue,” said Joel Honeyman, Doosan Bobcat vice president of global innovation. “We've been doing this throughout our history but it's really fun to be back into what I would consider more of a production agriculture setting and back to our roots.”
To operate, users plot the machine’s mission path via Agtonomy’s mobile application. This allows the end user to execute and monitor jobs running on an unlimited number of connected machines simultaneously which can yield a positive ROI for owners.
The AT450X can also navigate on slopes with attachments following the ground contour for professional results in one pass. Operators can control the machine to operate autonomously, via advanced remote control or manually, across various terrains.
“By digitally transforming the equipment farmers know and trust, we can help them combat the daily challenges they face, such as labor constraints and the ever-increasing demand for sustainable farming practices in specialty crops,” said Tim Bucher, CEO, and co-founder of Agtonomy. “The Bobcat AT450X with Agtonomy’s TeleFarmer technology makes the perfect end-to-end solution for agriculture and other industries allowing both companies to make a positive impact and that is what it is all about.”
