Deere Acquires Bear Flag Robotics To Immediately Enter Agricultural Robot Business

Agricultural robot, one of the vehicles that will be booming in the future. (photo: bear flag)

JAKARTA - Deere & Company announced on Thursday, August 5 that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Bear Flag Robotics for US$250 million. , Since its founding in 2017 Bear Flag Robotics has continued to develop autonomous driving technologies that are compatible with existing engines.

Deere said the deal accelerates the delivery of automation and autonomy to agriculture and supports its strategy to create smarter machines with advanced technology.

"Deere views autonomy as an important step forward in enabling farmers to strategically utilize their resources to feed the world and create more sustainable and profitable operations," said Jahmy Hindman, chief technology officer at Deere. "Bear Flag's team of talented agricultural professionals, engineers and technologists have a proven ability to bring advanced technology solutions to market."

Deere started working with Bear Flag in 2019 as part of its new Startup Collaborator program. The Startup Collaborator Program works with startups whose technology can add value to Deere customers. Since then, Bear Flag has successfully implemented its autonomous solutions on a number of farms across the US.

"Bear Flag Robotics' state-of-the-art technology is on the way right now," a video released with Deere's announcement explains. “You can see autonomous tractors driving through fields today,” the video continues, with an image of a John Deere tractor walking across the screen, performing various driverless operations.

Bear Flag's autonomous technology utilizes a combination of LiDAR sensors, radar and cameras, and computer resources "to enable tractors to work in fields independently, enabling farmers to increase productivity and take advantage of remote management solutions."

LiDAR, or light and range detection, is a remote sensing method that measures the distance of objects on the earth's surface. Terrestrial LiDAR systems are mounted on moving vehicles or tripods to collect data points.

"One of the biggest challenges facing farmers today is the availability of skilled labor to carry out time-sensitive operations that impact agricultural yields. Autonomy offers a safe and productive alternative to addressing those challenges head-on," said Igino Cafiero, co-founder and CEO. from Bear Flag Robotics.

The Bear Flag team will remain focused on autonomy, sensor fusion, vision, data, software and hardware. They will remain in Silicon Valley where they will work with Deere to accelerate the development of autonomous products for Deere customers worldwide.