After the launch of NVIDIA’s RTX 4080 and 4090, we find out today that NVIDIA presented its first tractor… more or less. We are talking about the fully automated Monarch MK-V robot tractor, created by Monarch Tractors and managed by a digital “brain” made by NVIDIA.
The heart of the Monarch MK-V, in fact, is a NVIDIA Jetson chip for Artificial Intelligence: NVIDIA’s latest generation of Jetson chips was launched last March by the Santa Clara giant, and is designed for the automotive and self-driving car sector. Or self-driving tractors, apparently.
Monarch CEO Praveen Penmetsa explained “the NVIDIA Jetson chip allows Monarch MK-V to run AI applications in real time and low latency, while conserving energy to increase its battery and job duration”. In short, as Penmetsa talks about it, the MK-V could be a real jewel of agricultural technology.
Every Monarch MK-V mounts six systems-on-module Jetson Xavier NX, which allow him to use AI to analyze video recorded by the cameras on the tractor, thus ensuring autonomous navigation of the fields and the completion of jobs that would usually require human intervention. The use of AI and cameras is especially important in rural areas where often there is no GPS signalwhich therefore cannot be used consistently to “drive” a tractor remotely.
NVIDIA and Monarch also explained that “the tractor collects and analyzes cornfield data from day to day, processing data detected by current and next generation equipment through their sensors and cameras. This data can be used for real-time adjustments, for long-term estimates of field production, but also to monitor current plant growth and grain health.”.
