High-tech tractors

A farmer holds a screen that plays a real-time augmented reality (AR) video that shows how to maintain a tractor during a demonstration by mobile carrier LG U+ on Tuesday in Ilsan, Gyeonggi.

The company showed off three technologies - a “digital twin” that maps the tractor into a 3-D AR image to aid maintenance, remote controlled tractors and self-driving tractors using an input map.

Farmers often require repairs even for simple issues due to a lack of knowledge, said LG U+. The AR application adds instructions in real-time to help farmers pinpoint which component has to be replaced and where it is located.

Low-latency 5G networks can also play live videos shot from the tractor’s viewpoint and send commands from a remote distance outside the cockpit. LG also showed off a tractor moving on its own through a pre-determined route.

5G-powered digital twins and AR technology can enable farmers to work indoors regardless of the weather, resolve the issue of labor shortages and help with maintenance, explained LG U+. According to government data, the average age of Korean farmers reached 67 as of 2018. [LG U+]