| | MAY 20228CIOReviewIN MY OPINIONHOW THE AG INDUSTRY IS (AND HAS BEEN) DRIVING AUTOMATION IN TRANSPORTATIONBy Ganesh Jayaram, Vice President of Information Technology, John Deere [NYSE: DE]Over the last decade, the automotive industry has gone through an immense transformation with the introduction of self-driving cars brought on by new technologies such as cloud computing, Internet of Things, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. While many still look at this technology as nascent, the introduction of vehicle autonomy isn't actually as new as it may seem. The agriculture industry was one of the first to develop and experience the benefits of precise guidance solutions and highly automated vehicles in order to improve efficiency on the farm.While automotive companies are starting to test out autonomous solutions on the road, these types of technologies have been applied to real-world scenarios on the farm for decades. Despite an often outdated view of how advanced farming is today, agriculture has long been one of the most prescient industries in the world, offering a glimpse into the future of mainstream technology.From reinventing hand tools to the introduction of mechanization and even guidance, agriculture has been at the forefront of technological revolution, getting there before many other industries.To truly understand where automation is headed, again we look to the farm, with the introduction of precision ag technology. Decades ago, farmers used to look at harvest maps, which show farmers how much yield each section of their field produced, at the end of each season, evaluate the end result, and use their findings to determine what needed to be done differently the following year. With just one planting season per crop a year, farmers only have approximately 40 tries over their whole careers to get it right. With so many variables and decisions to be made throughout the farming cycle, the risks for experimentation are high and innovation is the key to manage as many of those variables as possible. We're starting to see what can happen when you combine automated machines with advanced AI technology and promote profit for farmers In the 1980s, GPS devices and computers were introduced into farm machinery to equip farmers with tools that allow them to understand the factors that influence yield. Satellite technology was also implemented to help farmers plot courses that they could drive manually. While these advancements decreased costs and time spent on the field substantially, it wasn't until 15 Ganesh Jayaram
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