Case IH Trident 5550 Applies Raven Autonomy for Driverless Spreading

The Case IH Trident 5550 is built to be a combination applicator—both liquid and dry applications—but now equipped with Raven Autonomy, the machine can also be run in either autonomous mode or manual mode. 

This means Case IH has introduced the first fully autonomous spreader. 

“This is a significant milestone in our accelerated product development efforts between Case IH and Raven, highlighting our intense collaboration and robust product innovation following CNH Industrial’s acquisition of Raven in late 2021,” said Scott Harris, Case IH global brand president in the product announcement.

Introducing the Case IH Trident 5550 applicator with Raven Autonomy from Raven Industries on Vimeo.

Outfitting the Trident 5550 with Raven Autonomy exhibits the technology stack Case IH said it has been pursuing since its acquisition of Raven. 

“The core of today’s ag tech is rooted in Raven’s customer-centric approach: simplifying farming processes to gain tremendous efficiencies,” said Eric Shuman, Raven general manager. “This integrated solution empowers customers to make their operations even more efficient, encouraging them to thoughtfully adopt increasing levels of automation and autonomy.”

The technology and machine marriage mean one or more driverless machines can operate in the field without an operator present in the cab. The company highlights how this can provide for greater efficiency with available labor as well as consistency in spreading application accuracy for repeatable sub-inch accuracy. 

Here's how the autonomous Case IH Trident Applicator works: 

• operators can plan and complete an entire field operation based on mapped field boundaries from a mobile device 
• a series of cameras and radar system enable the Raven Autonomy perception to sense the 360-degree environment around the machine 
• artificial intelligence continuously processes a stream of images which powers Raven’s perception controller to detect obstacles
• if an obstacle is recognized, the machine comes to a safe stop, and the operator receives an alert on the mobile device. 
• machine tasks and functions (fuel level, Diesel Exhaust Fluid level, speed, RPM, bin-level status, Universal Terminal information and diagnostic trouble codes) can be reviewed from the mobile device. 

One test user, Brady Fahlman, owner/operator of Fahlman Acres in Holdfast, Saskatchewan, Canada said: “The Case IH Trident 5550 applicator with Raven Autonomy allows us to do more work in tight time frames, run our operation efficiently and combat operator fatigue — it’s a huge benefit. Autonomous equipment can perform a consistent job each time, which is very important to me, as we’ve built our farm’s reputation on being flawless and doing high-quality work.”

Read more: 

Leading Ag Retailers Walk Before They Run With Autonomy