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RAVEN AUTONOMY

For decades, Raven has been committed to maximizing operational efficiencies through our core offering of application and machine control platforms. Raven Autonomy™, our strategic growth platform, is an extension of that core. As availability of skilled labor decreases and compliance requirements get more complex, the need for more efficient utilization of resources is critical. Raven is best positioned to solve this great challenge. Our autonomous solutions will become an essential part of agricultural equipment technology for ag retailers and growers to remain competitive and profitable in the future.

Our market-leading guidance and steering technology, VSN™ visual guidance an RS1™ machine guidance and steering, are currently used around the world. However, autonomy in agriculture is not only about driving, it is about operating. Autonomy in agriculture is an extension of Raven’s Slingshot® communication and servicing platform, which has been used by ag retailers for over a decade.

Autonomy in agriculture also requires trusted implement performance and application control, like RCM and Hawkeye® Nozzle Control, and boom control technology platforms, like AutoBoom® XRT and AccuBoom™, each of which lead the industry in operational performance. All of these elements are equally important components of a successful autonomy strategy, and we have been innovating these technologies for years.

Leading the next revolution in agriculture

Raven has been investing in the necessary enabling components for autonomy in agriculture for 20 years. The necessary technology to enable autonomy in agriculture is ready, and the inflection point is here.

We will lead the next revolution of production agriculture, and our legacy platforms, new technologies, and strategic partnerships will provide distinct advantages over the competition. We believe we are in the lead position on the path to fully autonomous solutions for agriculture. Now more than ever, our strategic OEM partners need to deliver premier precision agriculture solutions in order to compete and win market share. Investing to expand our advantage is essential to remaining the trusted innovator in precision agriculture.

Raven’s complete machine automation will ultimately allow for 24/7 operations with maximum efficiencies and minimal human intervention. This requires increased investment in research and development to automate our current product portfolio and may include additional strategic acquisitions, investments, or partnerships to accelerate our full turn-key solution. We will adapt existing products to autonomous platforms as well as provide additional autonomous technologies that will allow us to bundle our offerings in a turn-key manner.

Smart Ag®

As part of Raven Autonomy™, we plan to deliver autonomous solutions for agriculture that will enable both our OEM partners and ag retailers to be successful. The acquisition of Smart Ag brings perception and path planning capabilities to our leading technologies in precision ag operations. Raven Autonomy™ will deliver on this great challenge; its technology will enable large-scale ag retailers to augment their operations, allocate resources smartly and reduce labor dependency.

Smart Ag was founded in 2015 to solve the growing labor crisis in production agriculture. Today, Smart Ag is offering aftermarket retrofit kits to automate farm equipment as well as a platform to connect, manage and safely operate autonomous agricultural machinery. Smart Ag’s technology stack is easy to use and modular for scalability. In addition to its proven, proprietary technology, Smart Ag brings an established dealer network and a skilled development team to Raven.

 

DOT®

DOT is the designer and manufacturer of a unique U-shaped diesel-powered platform designed to autonomously handle a large variety of agriculture implements. Through its accurate path planning technology, the platform is able to complete tasks autonomously. In turn, agriculture professionals can make better use of their time and overall operations.

Through this majority ownership, Raven will leverage the respective strengths of each entity to drive commercialization and adoption efforts of autonomy in agriculture. Raven is the market leader in steering, guidance and machine control technology, while DOT brings field path planning, user control experience, machine safety and remote communication software to this unique relationship. Together, we will accelerate the development of precision agriculture technology from semi-autonomous to fully-autonomous solutions.