Daedong (000490.KS) said on the 1st that its artificial intelligence-based autonomous tractor has been designated a new-technology agricultural machine by the Rural Development Administration.
The AI tractor is built on what the company calls a vision AI-based Level 4 autonomous driving tractor platform. Daedong said it is the first case of AI autonomous work technology being applied to a commercial tractor. The core of the system is Level 4 driving automation based on a vision AI recognition model, combined with app-based remote control of autonomous field work.
The technology differs from that used in existing self-driving farm machinery. Earlier products focused on following preset routes based on satellite navigation, or GNSS. The AI tractor instead uses cameras and an AI processor to recognize and analyze its working environment on its own — including the field, the implement attached to it and obstacles — and then decides how to proceed based on the situation.
Daedong has continued to upgrade the machine since launching it in April. Through over-the-air software updates, the company delivers new autonomous work and convenience features along with more advanced AI models, raising performance without replacing equipment. It carried out its first such update in August, after the launch, adding convenience features for autonomous work.
The AI tractor is the centerpiece of Daedong's push into what it calls physical AI for agriculture. The company is extending technology that lets AI recognize and assess conditions in the field and carry out actual work across its farm machinery and agricultural robot lineup. Starting with an autonomous rice transplanter in 2021, its major product lines — including an autonomous transport robot, a combine harvester and the AI tractor this year — have been designated new-technology agricultural machines by the Rural Development Administration in succession.
"What the AI tractor aims for goes beyond simply automating driving. It is about shifting field operations that have depended on the experience and concentration of skilled workers to an AI-centered model," said Kam Byung-woo, head of Daedong's development division. "We will advance the technology so that people manage and monitor the system while AI compensates for variation caused by differences in skill levels and field conditions, raising both productivity and sustainability in farming."
