John Deere has introduced the second generation of its autonomy kit, which integrates advanced computer vision, AI and camera technology to enhance machine navigation in various environments. This development comes in response to widespread labor shortages across multiple industries, the company said at CES 2025.
The agricultural sector faces a significant challenge, with the American Farm Bureau Federation estimating that approximately 2.4 million farm jobs must be filled annually. Similarly, the construction industry struggles with labor shortages, with 88% of contractors reporting difficulties finding skilled workers. The commercial landscaping sector is also affected, with 86% of business owners struggling to fill open positions.
“Our agriculture, construction and commercial landscaping customers all have work that must get done at certain times of the day and year, yet there is not enough available and skilled labor to do the work,” said Jahmy Hindman, chief technology officer at John Deere. “Autonomy can help address this challenge. That’s why we’re extending our technology stack to enable more machines to operate safely and autonomously in unique and complex environments. This will not only benefit our customers but all of us who rely on them to provide the food, fuel, fiber, infrastructure and landscaping care that we depend on every day.”
New autonomy kit
The new autonomy kit is being implemented across various machines, including the 9RX tractor for large-scale agriculture, the 5ML orchard tractor for air blast spraying, the 460 P-Tier autonomous articulated dump truck for quarry operations and an autonomous battery electric mower for commercial landscaping. These machines feature advanced camera systems, lidar sensors and improved depth calculation capabilities, allowing for more efficient and precise operations.
John Deere offers multiple adoption paths for users, with select machines being autonomy-ready from the factory and retrofit kits available for certain existing machines. The autonomous machines are managed through the John Deere Operations Center Mobile, a cloud-based platform that allows users to control and monitor the machines remotely, access live video and data and receive notifications about job quality or machine health issues.
Deere & Company has issued a request for proposals (RFP) to secure a satellite communications solution that will further connect its fleet of intelligent machines. The solution will enhance the satellite connectivity that Deere is delivering to its customers.
“We believe satcon will unlock significant opportunities in agriculture by enabling farmers to take advantage of innovative technologies that rely on real-time information and communication,” said Lane Arthur, vice president of Data, Applications and Analytics at John Deere. “For example, autonomous tractors benefit from real-time communication through the John Deere Operations Center, as farmers use the app to start and stop the machine, monitor the job it’s executing, and determine what it should do when it encounters an obstacle.”
During the initial phase, Deere is seeking a strategic partnership with a vendor or set of vendors to connect both new machines and retrofitted machines through satellite service and ruggedized satellite terminals. This is expected to enable Deere’s customers to be more productive and efficient, and increase food and fuel production.
For more information on the request for proposals, contact [email protected].
In the decades since the U.S. GPS became fully operational, GPS has become a highly innovative, successful and increasingly ubiquitous technology critical to applications and services touching the lives of almost every American today and for decades to come. As GPS-enabled technologies have become an irreplaceable part of our national infrastructure, growing more deeply ingrained each year, GPS is a success story of what can happen when government-backed R&D, paired with a light-touch regulatory approach, is turned loose in the private sector.
At the GPS Innovation Alliance (GPSIA), our member companies and affiliates are driving this innovation forward. While we use their products every day now, they’re also focused on inventing the future. Several key features are necessary to this continued success: a stable and predictable spectrum environment; a regulatory framework that fosters innovation and balances the fundamental technical needs of navigation systems; and appropriate, established interference protections where necessary.
Regulators must take care not to fundamentally depart from the longstanding approach to spectrum policy that has enabled the GPS technologies and services that underpin our economy. The prize on the other side of a well-calibrated policy is the next generation of GPS-enabled applications and products, which, as a GPS enthusiast first and foremost, I get a front row seat to our members building every day. These innovations span land, sea and space, unlocking opportunity for their U.S. government partners and consumers alike.
Innovations on Land, at Sea and in Space
On Earth, GPS-based products and services are getting even better at improving our everyday lives, helping farmers, builders, drivers and hobbyists work more efficiently and providing the critical inputs for everything from trucks to cell phones.
Take GPSIA member Trimble’s recently introduced R750 modular GNSS receiver, a connected base station used in both civil construction and agriculture that provides improved base-station performance and gives contractors, surveyors and farmers more reliable and precise positioning in the field. John Deere is likewise helping build next-generation precision agriculture technology with its new autonomous tractors, which will use GPS signals to ensure optimal plowing, planting and harvesting by adapting to real-time data analytics on soil conditions and other factors.
Garmin, a household name in GPS consumer products,continues to enhance satellite location and communication technologies for increased safety and user awareness, recently launching its inReach Mini 2 compact device that offers up to 30 days of battery life, integrated location and situational awareness technologies, and two-way texting and SOS capabilities.
Elsewhere, CalAmp recently celebrated two years of partnership between their LoJack Stolen Vehicle Recovery System and BMW Group Italy, the first step in a larger plan toward a GPS-based security solution for BMW’s full product range, while Apple continues to build revolutionary consumer tech, such as their GPS-enabled Apple Watch that can track workouts, activity, elevation and time, all without connection to an actual iPhone.
The ubiquity of GPS is particularly critical at sea. Collins Aerospace, for example, just launched Artemis Elite, the first–ever military underwater navigation system (MUNS) with M-code technology, that improves GPS signals’ precise positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) capabilities, making them more resistant to threats of jamming and spoofing. Garmin is also improving the consumer boating experience with its suite of OnDeck products, which pair onboard sensors and GPS to create a remote monitoring and management solution giving boaters 24/7 access to critical and timely information about their vessels.
Of course, GPSIA members are driving the effort to modernize the GPS satellite constellation itself. Lockheed Martin is building the next generation GPS III satellites and follow-on GPS IIIF satellites that will improve antijamming capabilities and geolocation accuracy for GPS-enabled devices, while L3Harris is building critical inputs on these satellites, such as their advanced navigation and timing payloads.
Our companies are also leading the way to help nations operate in space, providing critical GPS applications including guidance systems for crewed vehicles; the management, tracking, and control of communication satellite constellations; and monitoring the Earth from space.
Raytheon, for example, announced this month that it installed the first global aircrew strategic network terminal (ASNT) for the U.S. Air Force to enable protected communication capabilities for aircrews, while Lockheed Martinis the primary contractor in a cutting-edge project from the Space Development Agency to improve U.S. missile tracking and defense through a layer of multi-orbit satellites speaking to one another and sharing location data in real time.
Looking across GPSIA’s member companies, it’s clear that we live on a globe propelled by GPS. We should continue to give them the tools — and protect the regulatory framework — that has allowed them to do what they do best, which is bring us products that transform our daily lives for the better and innovate new technologies and services.
John Deere has revealed a fully autonomous tractor ready for large-scale production. The machine combines Deere’s existing 8R tractor, a TruSet-enabled chisel plow, a GPS-based guidance system, and new advanced technologies.
The autonomous tractor has six pairs of stereo cameras, which enable 360-degree obstacle detection and the calculation of distance. Images captured by the cameras are passed through a deep neural network that classifies each pixel in 100 milliseconds and determines whether the machine continues to move or stops, depending on whether an obstacle is detected. The autonomous tractor continuously checks its position relative to a geofence, ensuring it operates where it is supposed to, and is within less than an inch of accuracy.
John Deere Operations Center Mobile provides access to live video, images, data and metrics on a mobile device. Using the app, farmers can swipe from left to start the machine. While the tractor is working, the farmer can leave the field to focus on other tasks, while monitoring the machine’s status.
The app allows a farmer to adjust speed, depth and more. In the event of any job quality anomalies or machine health issues, farmers will be notified remotely and can make adjustments to optimize the performance of the machine.
Unveiled at the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Jan. 4, the autonomous tractor will be available to farmers later this year.
By J. David Grossman Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Consumer Technology Association
This January, the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) — owned and produced by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) — returned to Las Vegas. As the premier global platform for innovation, each year CES showcases the latest and greatest consumer technologies, from smartphones and wearables to self-driving trucks and electric cars.
GPS continues to play a central role in the technology we use daily. At CES, GPS-enabled technologies are found in nearly every product category, including 5G, internet of things (IoT), smart cities, vehicle tech and fitness wearables.
They are also among the CES 2022 Innovation Awards honorees, such as a connected bracelet that can alert emergency contacts and a robot that can identify the difference between crops and weeds.
How did GPS come to play such a critical role in devices as diverse as drones and smartphones?
Over the past 40 years, GPS has transformed from its origins as a military technology to one that no consumer or business can live without. During the 1990s, CTA members such as Panasonic and Sony pioneered commercially available GPS receivers.
At CES 1998, Garmin introduced StreetPilot, described as “one of the first practical and affordable GPS-based road navigation devices” and paved the way for huge growth in the consumer GPS market.
By the 2000s, GPS was no longer just a stand-alone technology. Following new Federal Communications Commission requirements, GPS-enabled smartphones opened the door for all-in-one devices. These products could deliver turn-by-turn navigation or identify the location of a lost or stolen device. In more recent applications, GPS technology provides the foundation for ever-more-complex mobile applications.
Opening of the 2022 Consumer Electronic Show. (Photo: Consumer Technology Association)
Foundational Technology
The evolution of GPS reflects a broader industry trend: innovators integrate foundational technology into successive generations of products, spurring development of new products and services. We’ve seen the same pattern play out for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Near Field Communication (NFC), which enables the latest tap-to-pay technologies. Hundreds of companies simply would not exist without free, global access to GPS signals!
With GPS, ridesharing companies such as Lyft match drivers and passengers, lead drivers to a precise pick-up location, and chart out a safe and efficient driving route. GPS-integrated smartwatches allow runners and cyclists to easily track pace and distance, a huge boon for many of us in the pandemic era. Closer to home, GPS-enabled pet collars help families keep tabs on their furry friends.
Revolutionary
Beyond the technology we use daily, GPS technology is also revolutionizing such industries as agriculture. Thanks largely to GPS, centuries-old businesses are now technology companies. For instance, John Deere leveraged its 185-year history of building tractors and combines GPS with other location technologies to steer semi-autonomous tractors with centimeter accuracy. In addition to the time and efficiency benefits for farmers, technologies like these support sustainable agriculture by reducing the use of pesticides, water, seed and fertilizer.
John Deere held a Media Days press conference at Mandalay Bay during CES 2022. (Photo: Consumer Technology Association)
The success of GPS is important for our industry’s success, and I am proud of the role GPS plays in everyday life. Modernization of GPS, supported by the U.S. government and industry, will enhance the accuracy, reliability and resiliency of the technology, which in turn will ensure GPS remains central to the innovation economy.
Deere & Company has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Bear Flag Robotics for $250 million USD. Founded in 2017, Bear Flag is a Silicon Valley-based startup that develops autonomous-driving technology compatible with existing machines.
The deal accelerates the development and delivery of automation and autonomy on the farm and supports John Deere’s long-term strategy to create smarter machines with advanced technology to support individual customer needs.
Deere first started working with Bear Flag in 2019 as part of the company’s Startup Collaborator program, an initiative focused on enhancing work with startup companies whose technology could add value for Deere customers. Since then, Bear Flag has successfully deployed its autonomous solution on a limited number of farms in the United States.
The Bear Flag team consists of agriculture professionals, engineers and technologists focused on autonomy, sensor fusion, vision, data, software and hardware. They will remain in Silicon Valley where they will work closely with Deere to accelerate innovation and autonomy for customers across the world.
While farmers work on growing and gathering their crops in the most efficient ways possible, other people key to the agriculture industry are hunters. These hunters seek the most efficient and groundbreaking ways to carry out such tasks as plowing, planting, fertilizing, weeding and, finally, gathering.
This month, among other machine-control applications, we focus on using GNSS technology to improve agricultural efficiency. According to research firm MarketsandMarkets, the precision farming market is estimated to be $7 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach $12.8 billion by 2025, growing 12.7% every year between.
Factors driving growth include increasing farm mechanization in developing countries, rising labor costs, increasing strain on the global food supply, substantial cost savings associated with smart farming techniques, and government initiatives to adopt modern agricultural techniques. For a look at today’s technology, see our cover story.
James Litton
Sadly, this month we also say goodbye to a pioneer in the precision ag field. James D. Litton founded NavCom Technology in 1995 with three partners, Ron Hatch, KT Woo and Jalal Alisobhani.
Litton’s career began at Magnavox in the early days of GPS, where he worked on the original proposal for GPS Phase I and helped develop new and advanced commercial navigation and survey receivers for both the Navy’s TRANSIT system and the Air Force’s GPS.
In 1992, Litton opened a consulting firm, and in 1994, he and his partners founded NavCom with Litton as CEO. Under contract, NavCom developed a single-frequency WAAS-capable GPS aircraft navigation receiver.
“His work transformed agriculture into a data-driven, technological industry.” — Brad Parkinson
NavCom also began a relationship with Deere & Company, supporting more efficient and productive agriculture. This relationship was so successful that Deere, which recognized GNSS tech as a smart investment, purchased NavCom in 1999.
Litton continued to lead the company and serve as part of Deere’s senior management team for eight more years.
Among his many contributions to the GNSS field, his impact on global agriculture might well have been his greatest, according to Brad Parkinson, the original chief architect for GPS and Editorial Advisory Board member.
“His work transformed agriculture into a data-driven, technological industry that was incredibly more efficient,” Parkinson said. “The cost savings and increases in productivity have impacted billions around the world.”
Litton also authored several articles for GPS World.
The GPS Innovation Alliance (GPSIA) sent a letter on Feb. 16 to the White House National Economic Council, asking it solve the issues with Ligado interfering with GPS spectrum.
“Strong and unified leadership by the U.S. government is needed to preserve and advance GPS — leadership that recognizes the inherently unique functional and technical attributes of GPS,” wrote J. David Grossman, GPSIA executive director, in the letter.
Panel on risks to sat services
GPSIA’s J. David Grossman will be speaking Feb. 17 at 2 p.m. ET, in a panel discussion entitled “Satellite-Based Services at Risk?” Other speakers include former FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell; Capt. Steve Jangelis, representing the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA); and Susan Avery, former president of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Register here.
The coalition, which counts Garmin, Apple and John Deere among its members, was ensnared in the dispute between Trump executive branch agencies and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) over whether the commission’s Ligado approval decision in 2020 would affect GPS.
In the letter to NEC Director Brian Deese, the group argues that these squabbles “are not unique to GPS” and “reflect a continued pattern by which shared decision-making is replaced by the FCC acting with exclusive authority as the final arbiter.”
GPSIA recommends that the council
update a memorandum of understanding between the FCC and Commerce Department to help ease decision-making;
install a detailee from federal agencies managing GPS in the FCC’s engineering office; and
have each FCC commissioner add a technical adviser to its staff.
The letter concludes, “GPSIA and its members stand ready to be a resource to the NEC and others in the Administration seeking to more efficiently allocate spectrum, while protecting critical incumbent systems and services.”
After years of testing and hype, not a lot of companies can say there are real applications for autonomous technology. However, at this year’s virtual CES 2021 trade show, both Caterpillar and John Deere, two companies known for their tractors and heavy equipment, showcased autonomous machines that are being used worldwide in farming and mining projects.
Photo: Caterpillar
Deerfield, Ill.-based Caterpillar, a first-time exhibitor at CES this year, said it has been involved in autonomy and use of GPS for more than two decades. “We were an early adopter of GPS when there were few satellites in the sky,” said Denise Johnson, company group president, resource industries. “We have 350 autonomous trucks operating 24-7 on three continents.”
The company’s autonomous vehicles, in addition to other technology, are being used around the clock in the Kearl Oil Sands project in Alberta, Canada.
“We are using autonomy primarily in mining operations in harsh environments. These [vehicles] are operating 24-7, with no loss time incidents,” said Bill Dears, Caterpillar worldwide sales and marketing manager. “We also track people underground with cameras and radar.”
In addition to production enhancement, safety is a factor in mining operations because of operator fatigue — something that is precluded by autonomous mining equipment, Dears said.
Agriculture uses variety of sensors, including GNSS
To Moline, Ill.-based John Deere, exhibiting at the trade show for the third time, agriculture is a high-tech industry that uses GPS, self-driving tractors, artificial intelligence and a multitude of sensors. The company rolled out its first self-driving tractors nearly 20 years ago, said Jahmy Hindman, John Deere CTO.
Photo: John Deere
The company won the CES Innovation Award for one of its tractor and combine product lines. “Both our planter and tractor have GPS and antennas to know where to drive and where exactly fertilizer [is to be placed],” Hindman said. “These tractors are self-propelled, with accuracy augmented with [real-time kinematic] sub-inch accuracy for the planters in a field.”
Among other requirements, Hindman said that tractors have to drive in a straight line, plant the required amount seeds and position them at the right depth. “When a tractor drives in a very straight line, the burden is off of the farmer. The yields increase—this is the way we see the progression of automation,” he said. “We are excited about 5G and its lower latency and high bandwidth. It opens up a lot of opportunity.”
Organizers roll out Indy Autonomous Challenge race car
At the virtual CES, representatives from the Indy Autonomous Challenge unveiled the Dallara IL-15 race car that will be used in a head-to-head race around the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Oct. 23.
The Indy Autonomous Challenge, organized by Energy Systems Network and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, pits 500 university students, developing autonomous vehicle technology, against each other for a $1.5 million prize.
Logo: Indy Autonomous Challenge
Organizers say the speeds are estimated to be as much as 200 mph around the 2.5-mile track, for 20 laps, which enables researchers to evaluate how autonomous vehicle technology works in extreme conditions. They say that the goal of the race is to advance the implementation of autonomous vehicles and advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), much like the 2005 Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Grand Challenge.
The race track has been the scene of much innovation throughout the years, said Doug Boles, Indianapolis Motor Speedway president. “Firestone tests tire technology there and that data transfers to our cars. One of the first conversations we had with Roger Penske [after Penske Entertainment bought the speedway] was about the autonomous challenge,” he said.
IAC sponsors include ADLINK, Ansys, Aptiv, AutonomouStuff, Bridgestone, CU-ICAR, Dallara, Indiana Economic Development Corp., Microsoft, New Eagle, PWR, RTI, Schaeffler and Valvoline.
Mobileye plans to test autonomous fleets in four cities
Intel subsidiary Mobileye plans to launch autonomous vehicle fleet testing in Detroit, Paris, Shanghai and Toyko. The announcement, made at CES by CEO Amnon Shashua, said that the company also plans to test in New York City, pending regulatory approval.
The company also plans to use in-house-built lidar sensors, while continuing to champion its camera-based testing. “We are using crowd-sourced data through the Cloud to build high-definition maps at scale,” Shashua said. “Thousands of product vehicles are sending us data.”
Shashua addressed a moderator’s question that cameras alone cannot be the technology of choice for autonomous vehicles. “The camera first is crucial from a technology and business point of view. We have to find out what is acceptable failure for Level 4 autonomy. Camera-only is ideal, but pushing the envelope for driver-assistance systems,” he said. “Consumer AV will take place in the 2025 timeframe. [Eventually], we can build lidar and radar to the same performance levels as camera systems. Lidar and radar can be added later for redundancy, but only for Level 4.”
Shashua said getting to Level 4 could take a decade, but that would be unsustainable unless there are government-funded projects to keep companies afloat. “By 2025, a subsystem will be good enough for consumers. Regulation is critical and sometimes it’s difficult to leap to a consumer level,” he said.
Not everyone believes what Mobileye is testing constitutes “driverless” status. To Alain Kornhauser Princeton University professor and transportation program director, who was head of the university’s team during the 2005 DARPA Challenge, not many companies are capable of full driverless capability.
“Unfortunately, I still see all of this as simply ‘eye candy’ to sell something that actually has no intention of delivering what it is implying. I still claim that the business case is zero, doesn’t exist, for personally-owned autonomous vehicles,” Kornhauser said in his Smart Driving Cars weekly newsletter. “Mobileye is nowhere close to being able to operate safely on most roads, let alone all roads. Thus, the consumer market has zero opportunity to scale.”
Kornhauser said that driverless testing is being conducted only in one place, Phoenix, by Waymo. “Neither Tesla nor Mobileye are driverless anywhere. They both require on-board human driver supervision,” he said. “That’s why they are only self-driving [tests].”
In other CES news:
GM CEO Mary Barra unveiled a single-seat electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) concept aircraft. The aircraft will be developed for future use as an air taxi. Barra briefly mentioned that the company’s Super Cruise self-driving technology will be integrated into 22 car models in a few years. The company also rolled out an electric vehicle for deliveries that can travel 250 miles on a charge and a motorized pallet for deliveries that can be tracked.
Photo: Mercedes-Benz
The Mercedes-Benz’ MBUX Hyperscreen, rolled out at CES, evaluates map data, surroundings and provides information about landmarks along a route, said Sajjad Khan, company CTO and member of the board of management. The new map feature, called Mercedes Travel Knowledge, allows a passenger or driver to ask a question as they drive by a landmark (“hey, Mercedes, what can you tell me about this building?”). The MBUX Hyperscreen is available in the new S-Class cars.
HERE Technologies introduced a mapping-as-a-service platform at CES. The platform is targeted to businesses wanting to create custom map datasets for advanced analytics and services, the company said. Some use cases include industrial yard mapping, leveraging probe data from private vehicle fleets in order to create or update a map.• A virtual CES is hard to get used to. After more than 20 years of covering the massive trade show in person, covering press conferences and conducting interviews online was sometimes a challenge. Sometimes the press conferences did not have question-and-answer sessions, or canned answers given to executives by public relations people. This doesn’t happen much during an in-person interview. In addition, trying to chat with “booth” personnel online was cumbersome and often those requests for information were ignored.
While GPS technology originally started as a product of the space race, it has transformed in recent decades to be used in a variety of different industries. Its positioning and navigation capabilities make many everyday tasks easier to achieve. One industry that has continuously benefitted from this technology is agriculture.
The world’s population is expected to reach nearly 10 billion people by 2050, effectively increasing global food demand by 50%, according to the United Nations. To meet these demands, global agricultural productivity will need to increase by 1.75% a year.
Currently, productivity is only growing at an average rate of 1.63%, according to the Global Harvest Initiative. Precision agriculture and advanced technologies, such as automation, computer vision, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are already on the farm helping farmers meet this demand, and GPS technology plays an especially significant and transformative role in making this happen.
Game-Changer
The development of automated driving and self-driving tractors has changed the game for farming by allowing technology to drive the machines with great accuracy, while farmers focus on other value-added tasks.
Over time, that technology further developed in conjunction with other technology on the farm, such as GPS. Having a reliable way to keep equipment from running over crops is incredibly important to farmers.
The GPS technology we use at John Deere is accurate within centimeters and complements the computer vision and sensors within the tractors with precise positioning in the field. This allows the farmer to drive faster without running over and damaging the crop. It also means farmers no longer cover the same ground twice.
Other technology has also been installed on farming machines to provide added value, especially when paired with GPS. When used alongside sensors, GPS offers the potential to enable real-time data collection. Sensors throughout the field let farmers know things such as where each seed was planted or environmental conditions while spraying nutrients on their crops.
Historical data from the farmer and garnered through the technology are turned into maps that, when combined with real-time information from the sensors, enable farmers to have even more accurate and precise information about what is happening next in the field, to ultimately optimize operations. This is critical as almost every job that gets done on the farm has to be completed in short time windows.
Spatial intelligence provides a more vivid representation of what is happening in the field at all times so the farmer can make real-time decisions and plan for the future.
Tasks such as tilling, planting, spraying and harvesting are easier when farmers have a more precise way to track their position. GPS technology, working in conjunction with computer vision cameras and sensors, allows crops to be distributed more evenly across a field and enables seeds to be planted at exactly the correct spacing and position to maximize yield.
All of these tasks boost productivity and sustainability on the farm by providing farmers with the data to make informed, sustainable decisions.
Photo: John Deere
Machines Talking to Each Other
Technology on farms has evolved to the point where machines can wirelessly communicate to each other in the field. This concept, known as machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, is also linked closely to GPS technology. Enabling machines to know where in the field another machine is and what work it has done in real time means the machines work as a team to get the job done in the most efficient way possible with no overlap. Coordination among machines helps farmers avoid redundant effort and the overuse of valuable inputs, which allows for more efficient use of resources and unlocks the potential of automation.
As the agriculture community continues to work to meet the rising demands for food, fuel and fiber, GPS technology will play a key role to help farmers make more food more efficiently, sustainably and with greater consistency in results. This not only benefits the farmer’s business, but it impacts every single person in the world.
Al Savage is the StarFire Network manager at John Deere.
Aceinna was recognized as a partner-level supplier for 2019 and was inducted into the Supplier Hall of Fame in the John Deere Achieving Excellence Program.
Aceinna is a supplier of high-performance inertial sensor modules to John Deere’s operation in Fargo, North Dakota, for autonomous navigation and positioning.
Hall of Fame status is given after a supplier attains a Partner-level rating for five consecutive years. The Partner-level status is Deere & Company’s highest supplier rating.
According to John Deere, “Aceinna has earned this award in recognition of its dedication to providing products and service of outstanding quality as well as its commitment to continuous improvement.” Company employees accepted the recognition during formal ceremonies held on Jan. 29 in Davenport, Iowa.
Suppliers who participate in the Achieving Excellence program are evaluated annually in several key performance categories, including quality, cost management, delivery, technical support and wavelength, which is a measure of responsiveness.
John Deere Supply Management created the program in 1991 to provide a supplier evaluation and feedback process that promotes continuous improvement.
“We are honored to be recognized by John Deere for our fifth straight year for the technical merits of our IMU (inertial measurement unit) and our focus on product quality and on time delivery,” said John Newton, vice president for inertial products. “This John Deere award further adds to the industry recognition that Aceinna has earned over the last couple of years, positioning us as one of the industry leaders and innovators in the autonomous vehicles navigation and positioning space.”
Collins Aerospace is one of the world’s largest suppliers of aerospace and defense products, and joins founding-member companies John Deere, Garmin and Trimble as well as 11 national organizations who make up GPSIA’s affiliates program.
Collins will further bolster the Alliance’s goal of enhancing GPS innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship.
“We are excited to welcome Collins Aerospace as the newest member of the GPS Innovation Alliance,” said GPSIA Executive Director J. David Grossman. “As one of the leading aerospace companies in the world, Collins has a long and deep history with GPS technology, beginning with the first GPS signal ever received from the roof of their facilities in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. We look forward to working with Collins Aerospace as the newest member of GPSIA and are confident that they will be a valuable addition in our efforts to heighten awareness of the economic importance and societal benefits of GPS.”
“GPS technology is vital to Collins Aerospace, enabling us to achieve innovative solutions for the aerospace and defense industries,” said Frank Zane, associate director of Business Development, Position, Navigation, Timing (PNT), Collins Aerospace. “We are thrilled to join the GPS Innovation Alliance in their long-standing efforts to ensure the continuous availability, accuracy, reliability, and resiliency of the GPS constellation.”
The GPS Innovation Alliance was founded by Deere & Company, Garmin International, Inc. and Trimble Inc. The alliance recognizes the ever-increasing importance of GPS and other GNSS technologies to the global economy and infrastructure and is firmly committed to furthering GPS innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship.
