New Holland's NHDrive autonomous tractor concept honored at the Innovation Awards 2017

The NHDrive autonomous tractor concept and the new High Efficiency Heat Rejection System (HEHRS) honored at the Innovation Awards 2017

- Silver Medal at the Innovation Awards 2017 for the New Holland NHDrive autonomous tractor concept, which can operate with or without a driver

- Citation for the new design of the High Efficiency Heat Rejection System (HEHRS)

New Holland, an innovation pioneer, has once again impressed the jury of agricultural experts, which awarded a highly coveted Silver Medal at the Innovation Awards 2017 to the NHDrive autonomous tractor concept.

This vehicle offers a glimpse of the future of farming, which may well be populated by fully autonomous machines, a vision that would redefine the agriculture of tomorrow.

The jury also awarded New Holland a citation for the new design of a more efficient cooling system: the High Efficiency Heat Rejection System.

Carlo Lambro, Brand President of New Holland, said: ?We are delighted to see our pioneering approach recognized in this way. The awarded innovations are the result of our priority on continuously improving the level of efficiency and profitability that our customers can achieve with our equipment.

They contribute to our main goal, which is to help create a sustainable future for agriculture.

The NHDrive autonomous tractor concept offers maximum versatility of use because it operates without a driver, yet it still has a standard cab for transport activities or those requiring the driver's constant attention.

At New Holland Agriculture, we have made agricultural innovation our main focus for 120 years, and we are proud to be a driving and dynamic force in this important shift.?

Silver Medal at the Innovation Awards for the New Holland NHDrive autonomous tractor concept, which can operate with or without a driver

This concept was developed by CNH Industrial in collaboration with its long-standing technology supplier, Autonomous Solutions Incorporated (ASI). This Utah-based company is an industry leader in off-road autonomous solutions. The New Holland NHDrive autonomous tractor concept is based on a T8 Blue Power.

The NHDrive is a fully autonomous vehicle with no driver on board, which can be monitored and controlled via an interface on a desktop computer or a tablet.

Equipped with a seed drill, it is able to sow the next crop itself right behind the combine harvester. Farmers can thus access data from the tractor and the implement wherever they are and whenever they wish.

This allows them to make the right decisions at the right time to increase operational efficiency and productivity, while retaining full control and complete ownership of their data.

The NHDrive tractor can take full advantage of weather windows favorable to farm work by operating day and night. It fully exploits precision farming technologies and reaches higher levels of productivity and profitability.

It helps reduce the risks associated with human error, as it follows predetermined, optimized plans for all activities and continuously monitors its working environment to react in case of obstacles.

The NHDrive tractor concept offers maximum operational flexibility since it is fitted with a cab identical to that of a standard T8.

It can therefore be used for operations that cannot yet be carried out autonomously, such as transport activities on public roads and those requiring the driver's constant attention to achieve optimal work quality (specialty crops, plowing, etc.).

The NHDrive tractor can work with other autonomous machines, but also in tandem with operator-driven machines.

In the future, equipped with a grain cart, it will be able to fully automate grain logistics during harvest, from the combine harvesters to the waiting trucks.

It is conceivable that, in the future, New Holland's complete range of tractors, as well as other agricultural equipment, could be fitted with NHDrive technology.

Developments of the NHDrive autonomous tractor will be a key element of the future PLM precision farming strategy, one of the pillars of New Holland's Clean Energy Leader strategy.

The ?doing more with less? concept thus takes on its full meaning: more work, more efficiency, more productivity, more flexibility for operational decisions, all based on accurate data.

All of this is combined with optimized use of inputs, reduced costs and consumption, and less arduous work.

Citation for the new design of the High Efficiency Heat Rejection System (HEHRS)

New Holland's new cooling system design is based on a dual circuit and a thermal balancing concept. The objective, which was achieved, was to reduce the size of the radiator pack and, consequently, the fan's power consumption.

The High Efficiency Heat Rejection System (HEHRS) relies on two circuits: a high-temperature circuit to cool the engine and a low-temperature circuit to locally cool the vehicle's peripheral equipment, which distributes heat rejection requirements.

The thermal module has only two radiators: the first for engine cooling and the second for the low-temperature circuit.

Traditional air/liquid or air/air radiators are replaced by far more efficient plate heat exchangers.

This solution provides an extremely flexible system, which offers a new component layout that maximizes efficiency and reduces fan energy consumption. As a result, the new cooling system frees up more useful power for the user while significantly reducing fuel consumption.

The benefits of the new system are numerous: the smaller radiators and optimized layout make it possible to reduce the size of the hoods and thus improve visibility.

The simplified thermal module makes maintenance and cleaning of the heat exchanger extremely easy.

The coolant flow is dynamically modulated using an electric pump, which uses dedicated valves to manage the coolant supply to the components operating under the most critical temperature conditions.

The system is modular, making it easy to add extra coolers if necessary.

Finally, and most importantly, the high cooling efficiency results in appreciable energy savings, thus reducing the tractor's operating costs and its environmental impact.