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Showcase of autonomous tractor’s obstacle detection feature at the LS Mtron East Mega Center

■ Anyone can experience advanced agricultural machinery in the autonomous tractor test-driving space,East Mega Center, located in Gimcheon, Gyeongsangbuk-do
■ Anyone can easily make online reservations via KakaoTalk for tractor test-driving experiences available on Tuesdays of the second and fourth weeks of the month
■ LS MtronCEO Jae-ho Shin states, “We hope to see even more customers experience our autonomous tractors and advanced agricultural technology through the online reservation system… We will continue to provide differentiated values for our customers in the future.”
 

On November 27, the LS Group’s industrial machinery and advanced parts manufacturer LS Mtron (CEO Jae-ho Shin) announced that the company has opened a reservation system for the one and only autonomous tractor test-driving center in Korea.

In the beginning of this year, LS Mtron built the East Mega Center on a lot of approximately 4,000 pyeong(13,000 m2) inGimcheon, Gyeonsangbuk-do. The East Mega Center features a tractor test-driving space of approximately 900 pyeong(3,000 m2) along with a product exhibition hall, a metropolitan maintenance center, and the Gyeongbuk branch office. Anyone, including farmers, people looking to return to rural areas, and students, can now experience the autonomous tractors that operate without an operator. 

Generally, customers wish to try operating the tractor they are purchasing first to see if it is the right product for them, but it is difficult to testdrive tractors in reality. This is especially true for autonomous tractors featuring the latest advanced agricultural technology, as opportunities for testdriving are even more scarce. The East Mega Center is the only facility in Korea where people can view and testdrive autonomous tractors. You can also experience other flagship products of LS Mtron aside from autonomous tractors.

The tractor test-driving experience will consist of the flagship models SmarTrek, XP, and MT5. Autonomous tractor MT7 SmarTrek comes equipped with the rotary, hiller*, and vinyl mulcher for the demonstration and experience of bank* setup, and even allows people to experience farm work in comparison to other traditional tractors. Through this space, customers can directly experience autonomous farming and immediately purchase the tractors afterwards. Customers can also experience making bales* utilizing the brake connected feature of the 117 HP tractor equipped with an automatic mode and cultivating (rotary) work with the latest technology in proportionally controlled leveling control, as well as the MT5 tractor that features a medium HP engine. 

The autonomous tractor testdriving will be available in two time slots at 10AM and 2PM on Tuesdays of the second and the fourth weeks of the month, and anyone can easily and conveniently make reservations via the ‘LS Tractor’ channel on KakaoTalk. LS Mtron is planning to expand its tractor test-driving space into the Jeonbuk and Jeonnamregions in the future.
  

Meanwhile, autonomous tractor MT7 SmarTrekis the first commercial autonomous tractor in Korea that is being sold to public institutions, Nonghyup, and other general farmers. Autonomous tractor MT7 SmarTrek is an innovative product that can autonomously drive forward/backward and connect to other agricultural machinery with minimal operation. This product is at level 3 autonomy in terms of forward movement, rotation, and machinery control, and already features the obstacle detection feature that serves as the foundation required to achieve level 4 autonomy. This product allows work hours tobe reduced by 17% and harvest tobe increased by 8%, improving convenience and precision for workers while also increasing productivity to maximize the advantages of autonomous farming technology.

LS MtronCEO Jae-ho Shin stated, “We hope to see even more customers experience our autonomous tractors and advanced agricultural technology through the online reservation system,” and added, “We will think about what our customers need from their perspective and continue to provide differentiated values for our customers in the future.”

[Definition of Terms]
* Hiller: A farming tool that automatically plows furrows to plant crops
* Bank: A location built by piling soil from plowing a rice paddy or a field along the ridges 
* Bale: Compression of dry grass, weeds, dry straw, etc.