Kubota Wins Innovation Award at CES '25

LAS VEGAS (DTN) -- Kubota North America revealed during CES 2025 here this week a line of labor-saving imaging and autonomous machines and concepts targeting orchard and vineyard markets, and also the residential and construction segments it serves. CES 2025, the largest tech industry event in the world, ends Friday.

One of Kubota's new innovations, the smart cart KATR, has been named a CES 2025 Best of Innovation in the Industrial Equipment and Machinery category.

"We at Kubota (decided) two or three years ago that we are going to be a solutions provider," Todd Stucke, president of Kubota Tractor Corporation and senior vice president, Kubota North America, told DTN/Progressive Farmer. "We are making a statement that Kubota is embracing technology."

Kubota is focusing its current technology efforts on labor-intensive, high-value crops. "Because it's value and labor intensive, if we can get this technology to work there, we can bring it to other areas," Stucke said.

Kubota equipment on display at the CES included:

-- KATR. Named the CES 2025 Best of Innovation in the Industrial Equipment and Machinery category, KATR is Kubota's new four-wheeled all-terrain, multifunctional robot. KATR's stability system adjusts its four legs to maintain a level cargo deck when working on hills and slopes, including off-road work. Powered by a combustion engine or electric drive, the KATR can carry up to 530 pounds. It works autonomously or is remotely controlled by a human to tackle a range of applications in agriculture and construction. In addition to cargo, the KATR's deck can be used as a platform to mount production tools such as Kubota's pruners and cameras. First availability is the second quarter this year in Japan with distribution coming soon to North America.

-- Smart Autonomous Sprayer. A fully autonomous chemical sprayer that scouts to identify pests and sprays with precision to lessen spray drift and overuse. Kubota has not announced a commercial release, although its first market introduction will likely be Europe.

-- Flash. Ultra-detailed images are gathered by way of Flash to detect plant-level health. When coupled with AI, Flash provides recommendations on a grower dashboard to help make crop decisions one plant at a time.

-- Smart Robotic Pruner. When coupled with artificial intelligence and machine learning that classifies buds and canes based on position and fruiting potential, it optimizes vineyard production. Available now.

-- Smart Plant Imager. Uses advanced robotics and hyperspectral imaging cameras to capture real-time data and insights. Allows vineyard managers to harvest grapes at peak potential and position labor where its effort can best be used, based on scouting performed by the imager. Available now.

-- Agri Concept 2.0. An electric tractor concept offering data, artificial intelligence, automation and electrification as a powertrain choice for human-controlled or autonomous operations. The Agri-Concept 2.0 has been revised over a 2024 version of the tractor, based on customer feedback.

Of the equipment at Kubota's display, demonstrations of the autonomous KATR attracted the most attention from CES attendees. It might be Stucke's favorite, too.

"I'm a farm boy from Ohio (potatoes)," he said, smiling. "When I was in the shop, I could have had it in there; talk to it and have it come to me with tools, raise itself up or down for the heights I would have needed it. Never lose a wrench."

Dan Miller can be reached at dan.miller@dtn.com

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