The Evolution of the Gator: John Deere XUV Press Event, Part 1
The 50-hp, three-cylinder engine growled as the new John Deere Gator 825i XUV ripped through the rutted off-road corner.
23 mph…28…32…40…
The Gator held steady at 44 mph before I let off the gas to take the next corner. Luckily, the sports-tuned suspension and (optional, forthcoming) power-steering compensated for my novice driving as I avoided a spinout. I let out a chuckle and glanced over at my white-knuckled riding partner who refused to take his eyes off the path. But I wasn't worried -- the 825i had the power to rip through the terrain at the Carolina Adventure World, where John Deere held its Gator XUV press event yesterday.
The Evolution of the Gator: John Deere XUV Press Event, Part 2 -- The R-Gator
Sentient war machines traversing a desolate battlefield littered with the metal remains of mechanical soldiers. It might seem like a future scene ripped from The Terminator, but the technology in John Deere's R-Gator robotic utility vehicle shows us that robotic warfare is closer than we think.
Combining the go-anywhere Gator attitude with cutting edge technology, the John Deere Military Affairs Group has created a Gator that can be programmed to run a set course, learn a course and repeat it, controlled remotely and seek out coordinates on its own, all while avoiding obstacles and keeping the men and women that operate it out of harms way. It's one of those machines where its abilities overshadow its applications. It's basically a UTV with a brain. Tell it to go somewhere by inputting coordinates into the computer and it goes there. Flip a switch while driving a path and it remembers the path and can drive it continuously by itself. Or pick up a Microsoft Xbox 360 controller and pilot it like your favorite racing video game. All this technology is real. And it works. Just check out the video below (it's surreal to see a Gator driving itself).
