Agtonomy-enabled tractors are now generating more than 2 terabytes of operational data per machine per hour, the California autonomy firm has announced, alongside a new multi-point turning feature designed to bring irregular headlands within reach of driverless operation.

The two releases target different bottlenecks in commercial autonomy. Multi-point turning lets Agtonomy-equipped machines reverse through complex sequences without an operator, opening smaller and irregularly shaped blocks that have resisted automation. The passive dataset, drawn from a working production fleet, is designed to shorten the loop between field failures and software fixes.

What does the company actually sell?

Agtonomy does not build tractors. It supplies perception, navigation, task-planning and remote-monitoring software that is factory-integrated into vehicles from partners Kubota and Bobcat. Its autonomy stack now supports more than 500 implements, ranging from large air-blast sprayers and ground-engaging discs to precision toolbars.

The OEM relationship runs through two product lines. Bobcat carries the AT450X, an autonomous electric articulating tractor introduced after the 2023 partnership, and the CT4045 diesel compact tractor added to the platform in 2025 as a factory-fit integration for mowing, spraying, weeding and crop transport. Kubota's M5N tractors carry Agtonomy software for automated specialty-crop work, with sprayer operations the first task targeted.

What does multi-point turning change on the farm?

Tight headlands have been one of the hardest constraints on autonomous deployment. A machine that cannot reverse cleanly through multiple points cannot finish a row without an operator stepping in, which neutralises much of the labour saving that justified the autonomy spend in the first place.

Agtonomy says the new routine handles those reversing sequences on its own, which the company believes makes autonomous tractors economic on smaller vineyards, orchards and specialty-crop blocks previously considered uneconomic. The feature is also positioned for turf and land-management work, where trim lines and finish quality matter.

How is 2 TB per hour put to work?

The data is captured passively during normal operation, with no input required from the operator. Agtonomy frames the volume as the foundation for faster iteration of its autonomy stack and as raw material for longer-term products, including agronomic insights, operational analytics and fleet optimisation tools the company could sell to third-party partners.

Tim Bucher, CEO and co-founder, pushed back against the wait-for-it mindset that has dogged agtech adoption. "Growers need autonomous fleets that work now and improve over time, rather than waiting for innovation to arrive," he said. He described the field-to-code pipeline as a way to resolve practical problems, including tight headlands and inconsistent data collection, faster than the sector is used to.

Who is already running it?

Joel Carter, Orchard Operations Manager at Okanagan Specialty Fruits, said the company now uses Agtonomy-enabled equipment for all of its crop-data collection in the orchard. The machines run around the clock, including overnight, at a consistent pace across every row. Carter credited that consistency with improved fuel efficiency and lower labour costs for the data-collection task.

Commercial deployments sit predominantly in the United States. Wine producers including Gallo operate Agtonomy-enabled Bobcat units. In October last year the company added new US Southeast deployments alongside its first international commercial operation in Australia, where Treasury Wine Estates runs the platform on Australian specialty and permanent-crop blocks.

What comes next?

Watch for further implement integrations onto the Bobcat and Kubota platforms, wider Kubota M5N task coverage beyond spraying, and the first third-party analytics products built on Agtonomy's passive dataset as the firm shifts from autonomy-software supplier to data-platform operator.