Intel helps build driverless tractors based on 5G and intelligent edge technologies, driving industry innovation and upgrading

A dedicated wireless network keeps tractors running smoothly at a California vineyard.

Image caption: Federated Wireless and Blue White Robotics are working with Intel to provide self-driving technology to tractors in California vineyards. One of the tractors, unveiled at the Intel Vision Summit in May, automates repetitive tasks and frees workers from menial tasks, freeing them up for higher-value tasks.

Latest news: At Intel Vision, Intel demonstrated what’s possible when companies combine high-bandwidth, low-latency private 5G wireless networks with edge computing devices. Intel partnered with Federated Wireless (a wireless infrastructure solutions provider) and Blue White Robotics (an Israeli autonomous driving solutions provider) to provide technology support for self-driving tractors in California vineyards, enabling them to automate repetitive tasks and free workers from tedious tasks, freeing them up to handle higher-value tasks.

“As we look to the future of automated agriculture, we are very optimistic about the promise of 5G edge solutions and believe they can help our customers create new business and revenue models,” said Caroline Chan, vice president and general manager of Intel’s Network Business Incubator.

How it works: Farmers plot the tractor's route and the fleet starts working. The tractors work in two shifts, 24 hours a day, without a human operator. Sensors on the tractors detect obstacles in their path, and other sensors guide the tractors around.

Over the course of more than a year of the three-party collaboration, autonomous tractors were deployed to perform repetitive tasks such as weeding, mowing and spraying herbicides on the farm's two square miles of grapevines.

Like most farms, this is far from the city and there is not enough cellular network or broadband connection to cover every corner. The lack of network connection also means that sensors cannot collect real-time data from farm equipment or automate farm tasks. Therefore, Federated Wireless also deployed a dedicated wireless network to overcome the connection barriers within the site.

The private wireless network is powered by an edge server with a six-core Intel® Xeon® D-1528 processor, which also uses Intel® Smart Edge™ software to connect the autonomous tractors and sensors.

Meanwhile, autonomous equipment specialist Blue White Robotics also offers kits for converting existing John Deere tractors into fleets of self-driving machines.

Why it matters: “Blue White Robotics came to us with a specific problem,” said Bhupesh Agrawal, director of private wireless networking and edge computing in Intel’s Network and Edge Solutions Group. “They had a fleet of automated tractors in the countryside, but the machines couldn’t communicate with each other because there was little to no connectivity on the farms, which meant they had no opportunity to process real-time data.”

Next Steps: Agrawal and his team are looking beyond grapevines for their next big challenge: They hope to expand the technology to citrus and nut farms, while iterating on the technology along the way.

Why choose a nut farm? Mainly to embrace the challenge. Take macadamia nuts, a crop that is very important to the California economy, for example. The densely packed nut bushes provide a much more complex environment than neatly trimmed grape vines.

In Agrawal's eyes, these farms are not just dense clumps of plants, but also a source of valuable information. Each plant is a data source that can drive the unlimited potential of edge computing, but only if we can capture and process this data properly. In this way, these plants can make greater contributions to our customers, partners and the communities where they are located.