Although the Livermore, California-based company has a name that reminds us of the recent “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” blockbuster, we should associate the new Monarch Tractor with Chris Nolan’s “Interstellar” if we’re into popcorn movie references. That's our way of coping with the arrival of “the world’s smartest, fully electric, autonomous tractor.”
Watching the presentation movie (embedded below) for this agricultural equipment clearly got us into an excellent mood for watching (for about the fifth time) the sci-fi flick where Matthew McConaughey’s character is a farmer/ex-test pilot with a lot of autonomous combine harvesters running around.
Back to the point, we need to discuss the little Monarch I tractor in detail before searching for the Blu-ray. The U.S. company says it has created a 70-horsepower smart tractor on an integrated platform that mixes “electrification, automation, machine learning, and data analysis” to make it easier for all farmers out there.
Granted, they seem to need all the help they can get as Monarch also talks of “labor shortages, effects of climate change, safety concerns, increased customer scrutiny for sustainability demands, government regulations, and more.” Hopefully, the "more" part doesn’t refer to a mysterious plague that leaves the entire world depending on... corn.
What’s really interesting is we’re dealing with something that would be entirely futuristic even on the latest luxury car. Instead, it’s used to help people produce food, a win-win situation for everybody in our book.
The Monarch is a 70-hp fully electric tractor, and besides offering zero tailpipe emissions, it’s also a backup power generator for any field repairs one might need. Its maximum operation time exceeds ten hours, and charging it at 220V will take half that time - around four to five hours.
Four-wheel drive is an optional feature, and the little tractor is a 21st century companion for the optional driver (“driverless modes included”), packing 360-degree camera views, the capability to daily collect and analyze up to 240 GB of crop data, and smart device operation capabilities.
The company has already opened the order banks and customers can reserve a Monarch tractor via a $500 deposit, with full pricing kicking off at exactly $50,000. First deliveries have been scheduled for next fall, though.
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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