For the first time, John Deere has expanded its autonomous technology into construction equipment.
At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Deere unveiled the 460 P-Tier autonomous articulated dump truck (ADT) for quarry operations, nicknamed “Dusty” by its developers.
The ADT is one of four machines introduced by Deere at CES to serve its construction, agriculture and landscaping customers.
“The pace of our autonomy solutions is accelerating. We’re taking our tech stack, which is nearly three decades in the making, and extending it to more of our machines to safely run autonomously in unique and complex environments,” said Jahmy Hindman, Chief Technology Officer at John Deere.
460 P-Tier autonomous ADT

The 460 P-Tier autonomous ADT for quarry operations utilizes the second-generation autonomy kit from Deere.
Building on Deere’s autonomous technology first revealed at CES 2022, the company’s second-generation autonomy kit combines advanced computer vision, Artificial Intelligence and cameras to help the machines navigate their environments.
The autonomous ADT will handle the repetitive tasks of transporting material around quarries to facilitate different steps in the cycle.
“This machine leverages the same autonomy stack as its autonomous farming siblings,” said Maya Sripadam, Senior Product Manager for Blue River Technology, a subsidiary of John Deere.
“The ruggedized component stack includes satellite Internet, advanced controls and high-performance GPUs to deliver real autonomy into the rough and dirty world of construction.”
John Deere Operations Center

The machines are managed via the John Deere Operations Center mobile app, the company’s cloud-based platform. By swiping left to right to start, the machine can be started once it is placed in the appropriate spot.
Through the app, users also have access to live video, images, data and metrics, and the ability to adjust various factors like speed. In the event of any job quality anomalies or machine health issues, users will be notified remotely so they can make necessary adjustments.
“Using John Deere’s Operations Center App on a smartphone, customers can interact with the machine and monitor the machine’s activity,” Hindman said. “They can see the work being done, but they don’t have to worry about who is doing the work.”
Recognizing the differences between jobsites and agricultural fields, Deere built new capabilities into its tech stack. For example, the ADT can dynamically adjust its path as it travels along the road.
“The machine makes these decisions as intuitively as a human operator,” Sripadam said.
“Jobsites are both dynamic and busy. Routes change, vehicles share the road, and they move within the same space.”
As well, Deere has created the ability to support teamwork between man and machine. For example, loader operators are able to communicate location and timing to the autonomous ADT.
“It’s allowing customers to interface with their autonomous teammates,” Sripadam said.
Autonomous mower

Alongside the ADT, Deere also announced the autonomous 9RX tractor for large-scale agriculture; autonomous 5ML orchard tractor for air blast spraying; and the autonomous battery electric mower for commercial landscaping.
The autonomous commercial mower leverages the same camera technology as other Deere autonomous machines, but on a reduced scale since the machine has a smaller footprint. With two cameras on the front, left, right and rear, 360-degree coverage is achieved, and staff can focus on other aspects of the job.
Select machines will be autonomy ready from the factory and the second-generation perception system will be available as a retrofit kit for certain existing machines, providing customers with multiple paths to adopting autonomous operation.
Hindman explained expanding Deere’s portfolio of autonomous equipment will help its customers overcome the skilled labour shortages that continue to hinder production.
“Autonomy can help address this challenge. That’s why we’re extending our technology stack to enable more machines to operate safely and autonomously in unique and complex environments,” Hindman said. “This will not only benefit our customers, but all of us who rely on them to provide the food, fuel, fibre, infrastructure and landscaping care that we depend on every day.”