{"id":33942,"date":"2025-01-09T14:08:58","date_gmt":"2025-01-09T18:08:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=33942"},"modified":"2025-01-09T14:09:09","modified_gmt":"2025-01-09T18:09:09","slug":"ces-highlights-autonomous-deere-zeekr-evs-and-race-cars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/ces-highlights-autonomous-deere-zeekr-evs-and-race-cars","title":{"rendered":"CES highlights: Autonomous Deere, Zeekr EVs and race cars"},"content":{"rendered":"

Las Vegas<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 Waymo may have the most autonomous vehicles in U.S. operation, but John Deere has the biggest.<\/p>\n

At 11 feet tall, weighing 30 tons and packing 830 horsepower, Deere\u2019s self-driving 9RX tiller dominated CES\u2019s transportation displays that were \u2014 wait for it \u2014 dominated by autonomous vehicles. Autonomy and its accompanying Artificial Intelligence software are the buzzwords at this year\u2019s show, and the Las Vegas Convention Center\u2019s West Hall mobility displays were littered with vehicles displaying the latest goodies from tillers to rock loaders, and from Audi to Zeekr.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Set up the Deere 9RX with this mobile app (on screen) and the Deere 9RX monster will till soil by itself.<\/em><\/div>\n
Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

Electronics is driving the Second Industrial Revolution\u2019s digital transformation of society, and the automobile is not immune. Software-defined vehicles are becoming smartphones on wheels and the international mega-show was a showcase \u2014 not just for U.S. ag and auto giants \u2014 but for\u00a0Australian firms showing off flexible EV platforms, Chinese automakers offering roomy autonomous vehicle architectures, German race cars developed with state-of-the-art software \u2014 even traditional Asian electronics giants like Sony offering its first car.<\/p>\n

The offerings were innovative, complex and expensive, in keeping with today\u2019s premium battery-powered transport. Here are the mobility highlights of the 2025 CES.<\/p>\n

John Deere<\/h2>\n

Based in Illinois with manufacturing in Iowa, Deere is the biggest agriculture machinery provider in the world and has been on the cutting edge of self-driving vehicles for the last 20 years.<\/p>\n

In an unexpected twist to America\u2019s rural-to-urban population shift, farm America is on the cutting edge of autonomous vehicles. With open access to the sky for Global Positioning Systems (GPS), Deere\u2019s Autotrac system has made field tillers hands-free for two decades. In 2022, Deere took the next step \u2014 equipping its ginormous 9RX tillers with control units powered by Nvidia Orion chips to plow fields without anyone behind the wheel.<\/p>\n

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The Autonomous Deere 9RX tiller allows fields to be plowed without anyone having to be behind the wheel.<\/em><\/div>\n
Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Deere used the 2025 CES to announce it is going to market with its so-called Rev 2 autonomous system. With software developed in house, the system is married to 16 cameras and the Nvidia-powered control unit on top of the cab.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe farm operator just needs to drive it out into the field, define the area to be tilled on his Operations Center\u00a0mobile app, and the 9RX will take it from there,\u201d said Deere 9RX engineer Jeff Runde, standing next to his 18-liter, inline-6 cylinder diesel-powered baby. \u201cRather than sitting in the back for 14 hours a day, it makes farm operators much more efficient with their time.\u201d<\/p>\n

It also plugs serious labor shortages in the agricultural sector.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to provide autotomy to industries that need it,\u201d said Deere Chief Technology Officer Jahmy Hindman at the company\u2019s news conference here. \u201cFinding people to do the work is challenging. Customers can monitor the machines themselves and don\u2019t have to worry about who will do the work today.\u201d<\/p>\n

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John Deere’s huge exhibit of autonomous tractors dominates CES West Hall.<\/em><\/div>\n
Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

To that end, Deere is expanding its second-gen autonomy system to other industries including quarries, high-value crops like nut and fruit orchards, and landscaping. Deere introduced its autonomous tech stack on tillers at the 2022 CES and it has been in beta testing on a few farms since. This fall, it goes commercial on broad-acre soybean, wheat, and corn farms with other markets to follow.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe impact of our second-generation technology is immense,\u201d said Igino Cafiero, director of John Deere\u2019s High Value Crop Autonomy. \u201cNinety percent of the world\u2019s tree nuts and 77% of its almond production comes from California high-value farms. Yet they are suffering a severe labor shortage with 50% of equipment operator jobs unfilled. It\u2019s grueling, taxing work, all done at night.\u201d<\/p>\n

At CES, Deere showcased its 5130 ML orchard tractors, a more human-scale device next to the towering tiler.<\/p>\n

Equipped with the same Nvidia control unit, the tractor features seven cameras on its cab and adds lidar up front to deal with the more complex environment of orchards that also make it more difficult to access GPS with their low-canopy trees.<\/p>\n

Deere also showcased a Brobdingnagian quarry rock loader capable of carrying 46 tons of agate (which will compete with similar models from Caterpillar, the world\u2019s largest construction equipment maker) and a wee, electric landscaping mower \u2014 both using the Nvidia control unit.<\/p>\n

All coming to a John Deere dealer near you.<\/p>\n

Zeekr electric platform<\/h2>\n

Not yet available at a local dealer is China\u2019s cute Zeekr Mix electric minivan with configurable interior, including seats that can rotate to face rearwards. Zeekr said the Mix is not scheduled for the U.S. market \u2014 and neither are the 001 and 009 EVs on display here.<\/p>\n

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The Zeekr Mix minivan is cute and battery-powered but it won’t be making its way to U.S. customers.. Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

But what is available is the SEA battery platform that that will be used by Google\u2019s Waymo autonomous service for its next-gen vehicles. The Waymo display next door to Zeekr showcased its Zeekr RT minivan with lidar sensors on the roof\/corners just like the Jaguar iPaces that were also on display \u2014 and that currently make up the autonomous, 700-vehicle fleet \u2014 the country’s biggest \u2014 in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix.<\/p>\n

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The Zeekr RT has lidar sensors on the roof\/corners.<\/em><\/div>\n
Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Made in China, the Zeekr RT hopes to navigate U.S. tariffs as a fleet vehicle. Other autonomous fleet wannabees on the floor included Mobileye\u2019s VW ID.Buzz.<\/p>\n

Applied EV and Suzuki customized fleets<\/h2>\n

Sharing construction sites with Deere\u2019s rock loader is Applied EV\u2019s Tech Stack for autonomous vehicles. Built on Suzuki\u2019s Jimny battery platform, the Tech Stack is a base for any fleet operation top hat \u2014 like a city van or a construction site dust-suppression water tank.<\/p>\n

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The Applied EV, built on a Suzuki platform, is in use in Australia, Japan and the United Kingdom.<\/em><\/div>\n
Henry Payne<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThink of us as Apple providing the operating system for app makers to use on a platforms built by Foxconn,\u201d said Applied EV\u2019s Aleks Witko. The construction bot is in use in Australia, Great Britain and Japan.<\/p>\n

Race cars<\/h2>\n

Data and electrification are not just transforming autos, they are integral to race car development. The CES show floor was dotted with high-powered race cars, including Red Bull\u2019s Formula One car piloted by World Champion Max Verstappen and Audi\u2019s Dakar Rally-winning RS Q e-Tron EV that uses a gas generator like the Ramcharger pickup.<\/p>\n

Most prevalent were models that made the Vegas Convention Center look like the paddock of an IMSAT Weathertech sports car race. Bosch showcased the Cadillac V-Series.R hypercar that raced tooth-and-nail with Porsche Penske for the title last year. The German firm provides the hybrid systems for both 700-horsepower rocket ships.<\/p>\n

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The Porsche Penske was developed using simulation software from Anysys.<\/em><\/div>\n
Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Ansys displayed the title-winning Porsche Penske 963, which was developed using the simulation software from the Pennsylvania-based company that has nearly tripled in size \u2014 to $2.5 billion in sales \u2014 over the last 10 years as auto simulation software demand exploded.<\/p>\n

Sony Honda<\/h2>\n

Last but not least, there were two car debuts \u2014 from a common source. Honda displayed its ground-breaking 0 Series Saloon and SUV prototypes \u2014 the first volleys in the company\u2019s move to EVs called the Second Founding.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n
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The Afeela 1 electric hatchback looks very similar to Honda\u2019s Saloon EV. It will start at $89,900 when it goes on sale.<\/em><\/div>\n
Henry Payne<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Honda will also make the bones for Sony\u2019s first car at its Ohio E-Hub. Yes, Sony.<\/p>\n

Japan\u2019s mega-electronics maker is getting into the car business. With a big assist from Honda. The Afeela 1 is an electric hatchback that looks very similar to Honda\u2019s Saloon EV, right down to the yoke steering wheel and pillar-to-pillar digital screen.<\/p>\n

The base Origin model will start at $89,900, which gives some insight as what Honda\u2019s halo EV might cost. A $102,900 Afeela 1 Signature grade will be available with bigger wheels and a rear-seat entertainment system with deliveries starting in 2026 \u2014 like the Honda.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

The interior of the Applied EV is sleek and futuristic. Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

True to the Sony brand, the Aveela features a sophisticated 3D audio system with the aim of making the car a self-driving mobile lounge for watching videos and running PlayStation video games.<\/p>\n

Sony Honda. The perfect marriage of electronics and auto.<\/p>\n

Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Las Vegas\u00a0\u2014 Waymo may have the most autonomous vehicles in U.S. operation, but John Deere has the biggest. At 11 feet tall, weighing 30 tons and packing 830 horsepower, Deere\u2019s self-driving 9RX tiller dominated CES\u2019s transportation displays that were \u2014 wait for it \u2014 dominated by autonomous vehicles. Autonomy and its accompanying Artificial Intelligence software […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33942"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33942"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33942\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33943,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33942\/revisions\/33943"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33942"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33942"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33942"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}