With expertise in retrofitting existing farm machinery with autonomous systems, today US firm Sabanto, Inc. announced the availability of its autonomy kit for Kubota M5 tractors.
Sabanto’s system retrofits onto existing machinery, allowing operators to turn tractors they already own into autonomous machines. The release of the Kubota M5 aftermarket autonomous system marks Sabanto’s first system availability to end users in North America. Systems for additional manufacturers and tractor models will be announced at a later date.
“We are completely disrupting the way the industry views autonomous equipment, and we are bringing in partners who share our vision,” said Craig Rupp, Founder and CEO of Sabanto. “We see a future of smaller, smarter, lighter, less expensive, and more sustainable swarms of autonomous equipment that will enable users to cover more ground with less.”
“When auto-guidance was introduced to the market, it enabled farming operations to adopt new ways to complete tasks,” said Matt Hesse, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Sabanto. “Autonomy will do the same thing. It allows operators to look at new ways to perform their farming operations. Multitasking greatly comes into play here. When the Sabanto system is working on one task, the grower is free to work on additional tasks. When that happens, you double your work capacity.”
Through extensive field testing, Sabanto has proven its ability to automate a variety of field operations over significant acres. Leveraging a fleet of smaller 60 and 90 horsepower tractors, the company has autonomously tilled, planted, seeded, weeded, applied, and mowed across Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, and Texas. The company’s advanced software has been pivotal in deploying multiple systems for multiple days of non-stop operation.
In November 2022 Sabanto received investment from venture capital fund Cooperative Ventures – a joint venture between CHS and GROWMARK, two of the largest farmer-owned agricultural supply cooperatives in North America.
