Since its founding in 1890, Kubota has been working to solve global issues related to food, water, and the environment. In agriculture, Kubota has been using cutting-edge technologies to provide solutions not only to rice cultivation, but also for example to address dry field and fruit crop challenges.
Kubota exhibited at the CES®2024 digital technology event held in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA from January 9 to 12, 2024 as a place to share its future vision of agriculture with the world and unveiled the New Agri Concept, the company’s new agricultural machinery concept.
Why did Kubota, whose business fields are food, water, and the environment, exhibit at CES®? This article describes Kubota’s purpose and the New Agri Concept showcased at the exhibition.
CES® Has Become an Event Bringing Together the Most Advanced Digital Technologies
CES® has a history spanning over fifty years, with the first event being held in 1967. Initially it was a trade show for the latest home appliances. However, with a shift in its focus from consumer electronics to cutting-edge digital technology, its status has changed, and it has currently become the largest current event of its kind in the world.
Having transformed into an event bringing various industries and technologies together, including AI, electronics, automation, and data, CES® is now a stage for responding to social concerns such as "What social value will the convergence of these technologies provide?" and "How can we contribute to solving problems?".
CES® 2024, held under the themes of Artificial Intelligence, Human Security for All, Mobility, and Sustainability, was attended by more than 135,000 people. The number of companies exhibiting actually exceeded 4,300. The range of industries, extending widely from IT companies to retailers, was evident from the diversity of participating companies and even from looking at the keynote speakers for this event (Siemens, L'Oréal, Walmart, Intel, Hyundai, Qualcomm, and Best Buy).
Why did Kubota Exhibit at CES®?
Kubota’s long-term vision, GMB2030, was announced in 2021 and it aspires to become an "‘Essentials Innovator for Supporting Life,' Committed to a Prosperous Society and Cycle of Nature." One of the initiatives to achieve this goal is innovation focused on technology.
For over 130 years, while developing and innovating technologies to increase food productivity and stabilize supply, to build safe, secure, resilient water infrastructures, and to improve the environments neighboring society and industry, Kubota has been implementing technologies and solutions to solve various social problems.
By providing timely solutions unbound by preconceived ideas while making full use of next-generation technologies, Kubota aims to be an essentials innovator supporting the lives and lifestyles of the future. To that end, the company believes that not only its own technologies, but also collaboration and joint research with other industries are required.
Kubota therefore exhibited at CES®, an event commanding significant social interest that attracts companies and participants from diverse industries, and unveiled its New Agri Concept, a vision of the future that goes beyond the conventional forms of agriculture. As well as conveying its ability to provide superior technologies and solutions for the realization of a sustainable society and its commitment to promoting innovation as a company that solves social issues, by sharing its future vision of agriculture with a wide range of stakeholders, Kubota’s major aim was to expand the scope of its solutions and accelerate the speed of their implementation.
Agriculture's New Appearance: Kubota’s New Agri Concept
The New Agri Concept exhibited by Kubota at this CES® is electric, autonomously operated agricultural machinery.
Differing from presently used automated agricultural machinery, the New Agri Concept, which requires no human visual supervision, can work autonomously and safely based on camera and sensor information. Its six independent drive motors allow the performance of various tasks including tillage and transport, and the vehicle is intended for use in a wide range of applications, including work in wine vineyards.
In addition to fast charging from 10% to 80% in under 6 minutes, its key technologies include automatic data collection, real-time monitoring, AI driven issue identification, water management automation, and a data platform enhancing productivity. It is more versatile than conventional agricultural machinery.
The concept video shown at the venue depicts a vision for the future appearance of agriculture achievable by combining New Agri Concept capabilities with other cutting-edge technologies such as automated collection of farming data, advanced AI-driven analyses, and remote monitoring of farming conditions.
The New Agri Concept: An Invitation to a Future Sustainable Society
“I am excited to help unveil our New Agri Concept, which showcases our design philosophy and builds on Kubota’s long legacy of technology innovation for the betterment of society,” says Brett McMickell, Senior Technologist at Kubota North America Corporation.
"At the core of this work is making it easier for our equipment to be part of the global solutions for these global challenges. New Agri Concept displays the future potential of fusing digital and physical to provide complete solutions for our customers," continued McMickell.
"Many technologies, such as AI, connectivity, and autonomy, need to come together in order to realize Kubota’s vision of providing solutions across the food value chain – from growers to consumers. Kubota provided more than a vision, but an invitation to be part of the future where technology works seamlessly with our customers to create a more sustainable and efficient society."
In closing, McMickell said, "Together, we aim to create a more sustainable society for the benefit of us all, without compromise. Kubota is investing in its vision." A sustainable society will be realized through solutions that combine various technologies like New Agri Concept. To attain this vision of the future, Kubota will continue to push forward with the development of superior products and services.
- * CES® is a registered trademark of the Consumer Technology Association (CTA).
