Semi-autonomous sprayer unveiled at Hort Connections

A semi-autonomous sprayer, developed by California-based GUSS Automation LLC with help from John Deere, made its debut Down Under at the Hort Connections conference in Adelaide this week.

Using GUSS’ technology, multiple machines can be remotely monitored by a single operator and use a sophisticated combination of GPS and LiDAR (light detection and ranging) technology, vehicle sensors, and software, to move and navigate through high value crops.

The joint venture between John Deere and GUSS Automation LLC was announced in April 2022 to accelerate the development and distribution of the latter’s technology and meet the needs of orchard and vineyard producers worldwide.

The GUSS (Global Unmanned Spray System) unit basically goes through fields without any driver intervention to spray inputs onto the crops. GUSS also just launched Herbicide GUSS that uses up to nine sensors to spot-spray weeds, meeting needs for in-row hygiene while providing significant cost savings to the grower.

John Deere Production Systems Manager, Stephanie Gersekowski, said the eye-catching, silver GUSS sprayer had captured plenty of attention over the course of the Hort Connections event.

“This really is the future of spraying in the high value crop sector, and we are delighted to have a unit on site at the John Deere activation to allow producers to see it up close and understand the capacity this technology has to transform treatment application,” she said.

"Traditionally, using GPS guidance under orchards and vineyard canopies has been challenging, but GUSS has overcome this issue by developing several additional technologies, including vehicle sensors and software to supplement GPS and guide GUSS safely and efficiently through crops.”

Gersekowski was joined at the exhibit by GUSS Chief Operations Officer and Co-Founder, Gary Thompson.

“The whole concept is to have one person supervising the vehicles from the safety of a ute and monitoring anywhere from one to eight of these machines at a time,” he said.

“It’s a very efficient solution to address labour challenges where lack of workforce is an issue, and we are very excited about bringing this machine to more parts of Australia.”

“Being fully robotic and controlled by a computer, the precision that it sprays with is also just phenomenal. It does the correct speed at all times and sprays the correct amount of product, turning on and off when it is supposed to.

“It doesn’t double-spray a row by accident, it doesn’t skip a row – it is just very precise, so it’s better for crops, better for the environment and an all-around great machine that is really going to help growers with a lot of their challenges.”

John Deere GUSS Business Integration Manager, Sean Sundberg, who is based in the United States, was also at the John Deere activation meeting Australian horticulture producers. He said the joint venture with GUSS was a great example of what can be achieved when two companies with a shared vision for farming come together.

“The focus John Deere is placing on the high value crop sector is second-to-none and we are here to stay,” Sundberg said.

“GUSS has now been around for multiple years, and we are coming in and embracing the technology and helping them move faster. We’re using John Deere dealers exclusively to start increasing our retail footprint with GUSS in high-value crop markets around the world.

“From my perspective, with John Deere working hand-in-hand with GUSS, there is nothing we can’t solve to address what growers are asking for in terms of labour, precision ag technology and chemical application.”