Layer 1: the machine watches its path
Obstacle detection looks ahead of the tractor along its planned path. When something is detected, the machine stops rather than steering around it; in an orchard row a detour is rarely safe, and a stopped tractor is always safe. Work resumes when the path is clear and the operator confirms.
Layer 2: people can stop it instantly
- Emergency stop on the machine: a physical control that cuts drive and stops the tractor immediately.
- Remote start and stop with emergency override: the person supervising from the headland can halt it from the handheld.
- Manual override: an operator can climb on and take control at any time; autonomy disengages the moment the controls are used.
Layer 3: the platform itself
A low, electric mini tractor has a low centre of gravity and no hot exhaust or spinning belts in an engine bay. Rollover protection (ROPS or equivalent) is specified for the platform. The slow auto-steer working speed, listed on the robotics page, keeps stopping distances short.
Safe working practice
- Walk the field boundary and set it in the field map before the first autonomous pass.
- Keep people and animals out of the working block; the machine stops for them, but a stopped machine is lost time.
- Supervise the first pass of every new job, then step back to the headland.
- Do not run autonomously on public roads or across unfenced boundaries.
- Keep the emergency stop and the remote within reach whenever the machine is moving.
Published 24 October 2026 · Farm Sathi. Product figures are from the Farm Sathi product pages; values marked as awaiting confirmation there apply here too.