The manufacturer showed off an electric tractor concept, an autonomous sprayer, and more
A multifunctional robot for work in ag, and an electric tractor concept were two of the innovations Kubota had on display during the 2025 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.
This year marked the manufacturer’s second year at CES.
“A big expansion over last year,” Brett McMickell, chief technology officer with Kubota, told Farms.com. “Last year we tried to introduce ourselves and focus on one of our market segments. This year we had a broader portfolio and a larger exhibit that included agriculture, construction, residential, and even a little bit about our water division.”
One of Kutoba’s products, KATR, a four-wheeled all terrain robot, won the Best of Innovation award in the Industrial Equipment and Machinery product category.
This piece of equipment with independent suspension provides a stable platform for material transport in offroad environments and has other benefits too, McMickell said.
This includes installing sensors and robotics for additional task management.
“It’s the foundational building block, it provides autonomy and a mobile base for a multitude of applications," he said. "We showed an autonomous Smart Plant Imager that can do pH and sugar measurements in vineyards, and robotic pruners that can autonomously go through a vineyard and optimize pruning. We use Bloomfield Robotics to do plant health monitoring as well as yield monitoring.”
KATR can be controlled with a joystick or can be equipped with sensors for autonomous operation.
Users can also set up their systems to control multiple KATRs at once.
“The autonomous package allows for multi-vehicle control,” McMickell said. “Not just of one type of vehicle but different types of vehicles. The way our autonomous platform works, is as a grower you identify what tasks you want to complete, identify how many vehicles you have, and the software will give you the workup between the vehicles.”
And if one vehicle is full and begins to head back to its central location, the software automatically distributes the remaining workload among the other equipment.
Kubota also operates with an open integration strategy, meaning growers can install robotics and sensors onto the KATR from partners of their choosing, McMickell said.
Kubota will start accepting orders from North American producers on the KATR in the first quarter of 2025.
Another product Kubota displayed at CES 2025 is Agri Concept 2.0.
This electric tractor concept offers data, AI, automation and electrification as a choice of powertrain for when operators want to drive and autonomous for when they don’t.
It has a standard PTO and is an updated version of the Agri Concept Kubota showed at CES 2024.
“What we heard from customers is that they liked what it had to offer, but it didn’t have a cab,” McMickell said. “We took the EV concept we presented last year, and we have the ability to manually drive it. We’re also exploring different ways for humans to interact with the robots.”
The front of the tractor includes an LCD screen that provides tasking information and helps users set the tractor up for the day ahead.
It also has voice enablement.
“You can more naturally converse with the vehicle rather than going through menus you might be familiar with on precision ag monitors,” McMickell said. “It’s more providing the tractor with the intent and having the tractor’s AI help configure that vehicle optimally.”
This can help with customers who are new to precision ag applications.
Some customers don’t want to edit settings once the dealer has set them up, McMickell said.
“What we’ve found is a lot of customers don’t set the equipment up for an optimal state on the task they’re performing,” he said. “Some of them aren’t aware the features are available, and some are just kind of afraid.”
LEDs down the side of the vehicle also contribute to human interaction.
They provide information on the state of the vehicle.
“The lights may turn yellow if it sees you to let you know (the tractor) is doing something or turning red if you’re hindering the tractor from doing its task,” McMickell said.
An autonomous sprayer also featured in Kubota’s CES 2025 exhibit.
The display included a KATR equipped with a Bloomfield FLASH (camera) going through an orchard to identify any pest disease problems and provide recommendations to the grower.
“Now the grower knows what to put into that sprayer, and then the sprayer goes out and takes care of the problem,” McMickell said. “It’s part of using the work loop – doing an assessment, recommendation and action, in that order.”
Anyone interested in learning more about these Kubota products can visit the manufacturer’s website or contact a local dealer.