Video: John Deere See & Spray Ultimate in Action

By Becky Schultz24 April 2023

During a recent tech-focused media event held at its test farm located less than an hour from its Austin, Texas-based Innovation Hub, John Deere demonstrated its See & Spray Ultimate factory-installed targeted spray technology mounted on a 412R sprayer. The technology, which enables targeted spraying of non-residual herbicide of weeds among crops, is a product of the company’s wholly owned subsidiary Blue River Technology.

Cameras and processors mounted on a carbon-fiber truss-style boom utilize computer vision and machine learning to detect weeds from crop plants. One camera is mounted every 1 meter across the width of the boom, with processors also mounted at intervals along the boom.

This targeted spraying enables one-third of the amount of herbicide to be used compared to traditional broad spread spraying methods, according to Jorge Heraud, vice president of automation & autonomy, John Deere. Even with a limited production build and shipments of the See & Spray technology, he said this equated to a 2.2 million gallon savings in herbicides last year.

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