Seven tractor concepts of the future

As the global population continues to soar, the pressure is on farmers around the world to feed almost eight billion mouths by the year 2020.

Advancements in agricultural technology are certainly helping ease the strain, with drones, GPS, precision farming and headland management all becoming buzzwords in the sector of late.

Leading farm machinery manufacturers are scrambling ahead of each other to create new concepts aimed at making farmers’ lives easier. Think unmanned tractors and vehicles powered by electricity or hydrogen instead of fuel…

While these machines may not be on sale at the nearest dealership anytime soon, it’s well worth having a look at what could be in store for farmers 10, 25 or 50 years ahead.

Here are seven cool tractor concepts that will not only instil plenty of hope for farming in the future, but are quite the lookers as well. Who says tractors can’t be both fashionable and functional?

Valtra ANTS

ANTS not only describes the look of the concept, introduced by AGCO tractor brand Valtra, but also represents the brand’s existing tractor ranges – the A, N, T, and S series.

It was introduced in 2011 to celebrate Valtra's 60th anniversary and also made its way around to some leading agricultural machinery exhibitions around the world, including Agritechnica and SIMA.

Valtra’s ANTS is essentially a two-module machine designed around the hardworking, social insect with a 'soldier' module and a 'worker' module capable of working individually or together as a unit.

Cabs in the form of capsules can be installed on both modules if required. They can be rotated and placed at the front, rear or on top of the basic module. They can also be lowered for safe access and exit from the cab.

When carrying out heavier tasks, both modules can be interlocked. In this configuration, the rear wheels of the front machine are adjusted to a narrow track and the front wheels of the rear module interlock with the front machine to form a 'queen' module. In this form, articulated steering becomes available and a maximum 536hp (400kW) power output is possible.

Individually, the 'soldier' provides a power output of about 134hp (100kW), and the 'worker' offers 268hp (200kW).

Operators need not use buttons and joysticks to operate the machine as speech will control all operations. Important information will be superimposed as a heads-up display (HUD) on window surfaces.

The transmission will be electronic and electricity will be produced in various ways: through efficient batteries, fuel cells and turbo generators, or through a highly efficient internal combustion engine that can exploit biogas or bio diesel produced on farms.

Case IH cabless autonomous tractor

While most concept tractors still feature a cab albeit with futuristic dials and functions, Case IH has gone one step further and taken away the cab altogether, with the vision that farming can be run remotely and autonomously in the future.

The design of the concept is as sleek as you can imagine. Case IH based the design of the machine on its existing Magnum tractor model with reimagined styling. And no cab.

Officially unveiled at the Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa (USA) in August 2016, the concept vehicle has sparked widespread discussions within the global ag-community on how machines like this could potentially solve labour shortage issues in the rural industry.

"While we offer auto-steering and telematics on our equipment today for remote management of farm machinery and employees, this autonomous tractor concept demonstrates how our customers and their employees could remotely monitor and control machines directly," says Case IH Brand President, Andreas Klauser.

"This technology will offer our customers greater operational efficiencies for tasks such as tillage, planting, spraying and harvesting."

According to Case IH, the vehicle was built for a fully interactive interface to allow for remote monitoring of pre-programmed operations.

The onboard system automatically accounts for implement widths and plots the most efficient paths depending on the terrain, obstructions and other machines in use in the same field. The remote operator can supervise and adjust pathways via a desktop computer or portable tablet interface.

Through the use of radar, lidar (light imaging, detection, and ranging) and onboard video cameras, the vehicle can sense stationary or moving obstacles in its path and will stop on its own until the operator, notified by audio and visual alerts, assigns a new path.

The next step now is for Case IH to take the concept vehicle around the world where customers are invited to touch and see the technology, as well as offer feedback on the tractor.

"It is very exciting for us to explore the possibilities that this technology can provide to our customers. We look forward to getting their input regarding this concept and how it can help them achieve new production efficiencies," Klauser says.

ZETOR by Pininfarina

Car enthusiasts would probably be familiar with the name Pininfarina and its striking designs for leading automobile brands such as Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Peugeot and Maserati.

ZETOR by Pininfarina marks the Italian design firm’s first foray into the tractor market, and it was made public at the Agritechnica fair in November 2015 to celebrate Czech-based tractor manufacturer ZETOR’s 70th anniversary.

For the concept tractor, Pininfarina applied its expertise in sports car design to ZETOR’s brand of iconic red tractors to create an aesthetically pleasing yet functional machine for hard work in the field.

The result is a Ferrari-like workhorse with a fierce red paint job, tinted windows, beautiful curves and shaped side panels outlining the bonnet and body of the tractor reminiscent of a luxury sports car.

ZETOR says the concept is a preview of sorts for the brand’s future line of tractors, which will all be adopting the new, sporty design.

"Our engagement with Pininfarina hints to our customers that apart from new products which meet the technical requirements of our customers, we are also focusing on an attractive, modern design for our tractors," says ZETOR Director of Corporate Communications, Margaréta Víghová.

While production and release dates are yet to be determined, ZETOR will be showing off its concept tractor at trade shows around the world to gauge response and feedback from the masses.

So far, responses from the media and general public who have seen the concept tractor first hand have been phenomenal.

"We are obligated to put machinery with this design on the market as soon as possible," adds Víghová.

Yanmar YT concept

Technically no longer a concept, Yanmar’s YT tractor series was rolled out in Japan last year and is currently being introduced in North America and across the world.

The YT concept originally made its debut in mid-2013, designed by renowned industrial designer Ken Okuyama to celebrate Yanmar’s 100th year in business.

Featuring sharp edges and massive gold rimmed wheels back then, the transformer-like concept tractor certainly looks like a machine from the future.

Another key feature of the original YT concept was an unmanned system that will allow one operator to control two tractors at the same time, hence significantly reducing the time it requires to execute tasks on farm.

The YT series production models rolled off the factory floor in 2015 and have since become Yanmar’s flagship range of tractors.

While the new design has been toned down from the original concept, its sporty appearance still remains. A new 'premium red' colour, a new body design, premium aluminium steps that exude a sense of luxury, and new ergonomic controls are just some of the features that come with the YT series.

Although Yanmar has successfully moved the YT series from concept to production, the company is still developing the automation technology.

However, Yanmar – in collaboration with Hokkaido University – is currently testing the unmanned system in real-world scenarios; it says it hopes to introduce the technology to the farming community in the near future.

CLAAS ETRION 400

Introduced at Agritechnica in 2011, CLAAS’ ETRION 400 concept is not a prototype nor a future model but rather a design study conducted by a young London-based designer, Merlyn Gray, alongside several engineers at CLAAS ‘s facility in Vélizy-Villacoublay, France.

He wanted to explore design options that could make agricultural vehicles more efficient in the future, hoping his work will provide a case study for the future development of tractors.

The result is a spaceship-like automobile designed to answer the woes of farmers everywhere.

In order to maximise traction on the ground while minimising compaction, a wheel track combination has been installed on the ETRION 400 in which the track is positioned on a second traction path alongside the wheels in the field.

It features two steerable axles and a crawler track raiseable at the headlands for excellent manoeuvrability. With track widths of under 3.3m, the tractor is fully road compatible.

For power, the CLAAS team has designed the ETRION 400 to be compatible with various electricity sources such as a gas-operated assembly or future fuel-cell solutions.

Plug-in technology is also part of the blueprint, allowing operators to quickly and easily attach or detach their implements – both front and rear – without having to get out of the tractor.

It is designed to provide an output of 400hp.

New Holland hydrogen tractor

Considering the size of tractors nowadays and the amount of work they do, one would shudder at the thought of how much fuel they burn or how much environmental pollution they are causing as a result.

Tractor manufacturers are recognising this problem and have taken measures to counter it such as installing more fuel efficient engines that not only reduce fuel consumption and cost but are also friendlier to the environment.

New Holland is but one of many companies that are committed to clean energy and in 2009 unveiled a prototype tractor that runs entirely on hydrogen.

The tractor doesn't carry a diesel tank, combustion engine, exhaust pipe or gearbox but instead a hydrogen tank, fuel cell system, and two electric motors.

The idea is based around energy-independent operations of the future, where farms have the capability of generating electrical energy from renewable sources such as water, wind or sun.

Only water and electricity is needed to kick-start the hydrogen conversion process.

An electrolyser in the tractor will separate water into hydrogen and oxygen gases, in which the hydrogen will then be stored in high-pressure tanks ready to fuel and power the tractor.

The reason New Holland decided on hydrogen as a fuel is because of its ability to work like a battery and accumulate energy. It is also an efficient energy carrier and is cleaner than a conventional battery, creating no harmful substances and being completely carbon free.

A fuel-cell system installed in the tractor then converts the hydrogen into electricity which powers two motors in the tractor that provides power to its wheels, the PTO and other auxiliaries.

The result is an emissions-free, noise-free tractor that provides up to 106hp of power and about three hours of work on the field.

While New Holland is confident in this technology the cost of producing hydrogen-powered tractors is still too high due to the required fuel cells, therefore New Holland has put this concept on the backburner – at least for now. (source: Farmers Weekly).

Instead, the company is focusing on methane-powered tractors, which it says are more cost effective to produce and will be priced more competitively with existing conventional tractors.

Fendt X

When it comes to future tractor concepts, it seems most designs have a few things in common: the use of electricity and clean energy to power both tractor and implements.

Fendt's X concept was unveiled in 2013 at Agritechnica and introduces the idea of powering implements via en electrical connection at the back of the tractor hence eliminating the use of a traditional PTO and hydraulics.

The concept has been designed around Fendt's 700 Vario series and is powered by a four-cylinder diesel engine providing 200hp. The key component of the X concept tractor is the integrated high-performance alternator. Mounted between the engine and transmission, the alternator produces 130hp of AC power which is then converted to 700 volts DC.

The electricity is then transmitted to the implements via a POWERBUS system, which also provides power to the tractor's internal components such as the electrical fan drive and coolant pumps.

Fendt also added a safety monitoring system to the concept that ensures insulation on all electrical lines is constantly monitored. Should a component malfunction, the power supply can be shut down almost instantly.

According to Profi, Fendt hopes to have this concept to market by the year 2020.