Excessive-value crop growers are at the moment dealing with challenges round labor availability, enter prices, and crop safety. | Supply: John Deere
John Deere has acquired GUSS Automation, a developer of crop autonomy primarily based in Kingsburg, Calif. Monetary particulars of the acquisition weren’t disclosed. The businesses established a three way partnership in 2022 and at the moment are taking that dedication a step additional.
John Deere is an unique supplier of GUSS sprayers, and that may proceed to be the case after the acquisition. The enterprise will retain its identify, model, workers, and manufacturing facility in Kingsburg. This facility will increase John Deere’s U.S. manufacturing footprint to the guts of the nation’s high-value crop manufacturing market. Excessive-value crops, resembling orchards and vineyards, generate considerably larger worth per acre than grains or oilseeds.
“Absolutely integrating GUSS into the John Deere portfolio is a continuation of our dedication to serving high-value crop clients with superior, scalable applied sciences to assist them do extra with much less,” stated Julien Le Vely, the director of manufacturing techniques for top worth & small acre crops at John Deere. “GUSS brings a confirmed resolution to a fast-growing section of agriculture, and its crew has a deep understanding of buyer wants in orchards and vineyards. We’re excited to have them absolutely a part of the John Deere crew.”
John Deere stated it should help GUSS in increasing its international attain and accelerating innovation, together with continued integration with different John Deere precision agriculture applied sciences, resembling Good Apply. GUSS sprayers will proceed to make use of John Deere Energy Methods engines, first built-in in 2024.
GUSS Automation brings 2.6 million acres of expertise
Based by Dave Crinklaw in 2018, GUSS manufactures autonomous sprayers that may be remotely supervised. A single operator can handle as much as eight machines without delay. Utilizing GPS, lidar, and proprietary software program, the firm stated its machines navigate vineyards and orchards with precision to assist scale back operator error, labor prices, and materials waste.
Up to now, greater than 250 GUSS machines have been deployed globally. These machines account for two.6 million acres sprayed over 500,000 autonomous hours, the corporate claimed.
“Becoming a member of John Deere allows us to faucet into their unmatched revolutionary capabilities in precision agriculture applied sciences to convey our options to extra growers all over the world,” stated Gary Thompson, chief operations officer at GUSS. “Our crew is captivated with serving to high-value crop growers enhance their effectivity and productiveness of their operations, and along with John Deere, we can have the power to have an excellent larger impression.”
John Deere continues to spend money on autonomy for agriculture
That is the newest in quite a lot of robotics corporations John Deere has acquired through the years. It acquired Blue River Know-how in 2017 for $305 million, Bear Flag Robotics in 2021 for $250 million, and SparkAI in 2023 for an undisclosed quantity. Blue River and Bear Flag helped John Deere increase its autonomy capabilities, whereas SparkAI enhanced human-in-the-loop capabilities.
Earlier this 12 months, at CES 2025, John Deere added full autonomy to the 9 Sequence tractors. These are the biggest and strongest tractors within the John Deere portfolio. The firm asserted that this transfer demonstrates its dedication to delivering autonomy throughout its total product vary. John Deere introduced the autonomous 8 Sequence tractor at CES 2022, and it stated it has now accomplished integration of full autonomy for the highest of its tractor line.
The corporate additionally launched a totally autonomous sprayer for orchards, introduced pilot testing of an autonomous articulating dump truck (ADT) for mining operations, and launched an all-electric, absolutely autonomous industrial mower that might be launched later this 12 months.
Be taught in regards to the newest advances in agricultural robotics at RoboBusiness
This 12 months’s RoboBusiness, which might be on Oct. 15 and 16 in Santa Clara, Calif., will function a Discipline Robotics monitor. Talks on this monitor will all concentrate on the assorted methods robots are being deployed outside, whether or not it’s in agriculture, development, or extra.
This 12 months’s Discipline Robotics monitor will function talks from MassRobotics, e-con Methods, ABB Robotics, Autonomous Options Inc., Polymath Robotics, SKA Robotics, and ForceN.
RoboBusiness is the premier occasion for builders and suppliers of business robots. The occasion is produced by WTWH Media, which additionally produces The Robotic Report, Automated Warehouse, and the Robotics Summit & Expo.
This 12 months’s convention will embody greater than 60 audio system, a startup workshop, the annual Pitchfire competitors, and quite a few networking alternatives. Over 100 exhibitors on the present ground will showcase their newest enabling applied sciences, merchandise, and companies to assist resolve your robotics growth challenges.
Registration is now open for RoboBusiness 2025.
