[People We Met at KIEMSTA] Daedong Plans Exhibition Hall Centered on AI Tractors and AI Farming Assistant

An exhibition hall with red accents on a black background welcomed visitors in a calm atmosphere. At the “2026 Korea International Exhibition of Machinery, Equipment, Science and Technology for Agriculture (KIEMSTA),” which opened on the 4th at EXCO in Daegu, Daedong set up an 810㎡ (about 245 pyeong) booth, its largest ever at KIEMSTA, under the theme “AI to the Field.” The design motif used when it participated in CES 2025 in Las Vegas last January was applied to a domestic exhibition for the first time, and the exhibition theme also carried over the concept presented then. Here, the company showcased AI tractors, agricultural robots, an AI farming assistant, agricultural drones, and more.
 

Preparation began in August… starting with choosing technologies and products to exhibit

Daedong IMC Team Leader Kim Yong-jin, who led the planning and design of the exhibition hall, had been preparing for this fair since August. Kim explained, “Even just looking at Daedong’s website, there are so many products that it was not easy from the process of selecting which technologies and products to show,” adding, “As the company’s vision is to be a leading future-agriculture company and we have also launched an AI advertising campaign, we judged it would be effective to show that we are an AI and robotics agricultural company.”

The exhibition design focused on highlighting Daedong’s unique identity. The space was arranged to create a premium image with black tones while allowing visitors to look around comfortably. For tractors, five models were displayed, centered on the AI tractor “HX1400-AI,” including the GX, DK, and LK series and Deutz-Fahr, while a combine, rice transplanter, and track loader also took their places. The agricultural robot “RT100” demonstrated its transport function in person. The mowing module placed right next to it showed how one robot platform can be fitted with different modules suited to each task.
 

An AI tractor whose functions increase through updates… “AI Daedongi,” used by phone without an app

The product Daedong put most prominently forward was the HX1400-AI, a vision AI-based autonomous-work tractor launched domestically for the first time last April. Daedong introduces this product as a “level-4 autonomous-work” tractor. Kim said, “Because it applies vision AI technology to automatically recognize attached implements and the like as if seeing them with the eye, convenience has greatly improved.”

He also cited as a strength that functions continue to be updated based on data. He added, “It is a product that always gives the feeling of driving a new tractor.” At the exhibition hall, the simulation game “Beat the HX AI Tractor” was operated. Visitors carried out virtual farm work using a steering wheel and pedals, then compared the work path and results with the AI tractor. A video showing autonomous work being instructed and monitored through the Daedong Connect app was also screened.

A separate experience space was also prepared for the AI farming assistant “AI Daedongi.” Daedong has operated a generative AI-based Q&A service within its agricultural platform app “Daedong Connect,” which has surpassed 60,000 subscribers. The service unveiled this time can be used by phone call only, without installing an app or signing up, so elderly farmers unfamiliar with smartphones can use it easily. When farmers state by phone the work they did that day, a farming log is automatically written and sent via KakaoTalk. Accumulated records are organized into farming and crop-protection calendars or expense and shipment ledgers and used for cultivation and management. It also answers questions about farm work or purchase information.
Kim emphasized, “It is the concept of an AI agent that identifies and guides what is needed according to the customer’s situation,” adding, “It has expanded beyond physical AI into the AI agent domain.” Based on a business agreement signed in June between group AI affiliate Daedong AI Lab and the Rural Development Administration, Daedong plans to advance AI Daedongi into an “agricultural AI agent” by linking farming data accumulated in AI Daedongi with the RDA’s “AI Isaki.”

AI smart-farm solutions and AI precision-agriculture solutions were also introduced. The smart-farm solution issues work instructions based on data collected by scouting robots inside greenhouses and delivers them through an app that supports four languages to increase yields. The precision-agriculture solution performs variable-rate fertilization by applying different amounts of fertilizer to each zone according to open-field soil analysis results and reduces costs by predicting yields. Visitors can choose among soil analysis, growth analysis, and yield monitoring to view videos and data-analysis results. 

DJI crop-protection drone T25P and Deutz-Fahr high-horsepower tractor exhibited in Korea for the first time

Products brought in as the company broadened its business areas were also unveiled for the first time. They are the new agricultural drone “T25P” from Chinese drone company DJI and the Deutz-Fahr high-horsepower tractor launched domestically on the 1st of last month. The T25P had never been shown in Korea before, and this is also the first time Deutz-Fahr high-horsepower tractors, released in four 180–240 horsepower models, have appeared at a domestic exhibition.

Daedong Domestic Business Team Manager Joo Han-il introduced it by saying, “The T25P has a chemical tank capacity of 20 liters,” and “In addition to the basic chemical tank, it can also spread fertilizer and seeds.” According to Joo, the chemical spraying volume is 16 liters per minute, and if two nozzles are added it can be increased to 24 liters per minute. The “T70P” displayed together is a 70-liter class model. He explained that the T25P is suitable for small-scale crop protection and tasks requiring frequent movement, while the T70P is suitable for sites with large spraying volumes such as forests, orchards, and field crops.

Agricultural drone accidents are increasing every year. According to parliamentary audit data that People Power Party lawmaker Lee Yang-soo (Sokcho, Inje, Goseong, Yangyang) received from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the number of agricultural drone insurance payouts under comprehensive agricultural machinery insurance rose from 151 cases in 2022 to 703 cases in 2025, a 4.7-fold increase. Compared with the number of drones owned rising 1.7-fold from 2,098 to 3,555 during the same period, accidents resulting in insurance payouts have increased much more sharply.

The T25P also emphasizes safety functions. It detects obstacles with a front vision sensor and radar and performs emergency braking or avoidance. AI functions in the controller distinguish whether an object captured by the camera is a car or a person. Work routes are also stored as data. In fields with much manual work, it had been difficult to check the amount of work done, but routes can be made into maps and used for work planning. Joo predicted, “In the future, it can also be used for variable-rate fertilization or farm-work contracting.”

Daedong has been supplying DJI agricultural drones in Korea since July. Its goal is to sell more than 1,000 units annually on average by using its nationwide dealerships and service network. Regarding DJI, Joo explained, “Because it has a lot of sales data, there are many insights that can be obtained in areas such as safety, and its user UI is also well equipped.” He added, “DJI chose traditional agricultural machinery companies as supply partners in major overseas agricultural countries because it judged that the market could grow further if existing distribution and service personnel were combined with the new marketing of drones.” 

A 15-minute viewing route from AI tractors to compact tractors

Kim recommended first seeing the AI tractor, then hearing explanations of the two AI solutions and AI Daedongi, and then looking around in the order of autonomous agricultural machinery, Deutz-Fahr, and compact tractors. Following his explanation takes about 15 minutes. At the exhibition hall, along with an AI tractor test-drive event, the “Daedong AI Rally,” in which visitors complete five experience missions, is also under way. Kim urged, “You cannot know an AI tractor unless you try it,” adding, “I hope visitors will test-drive and experience it for themselves.”

Kim said, “I hope people will recognize that Daedong is presenting convenient products with AI and robotics technology and making various efforts to increase farmers’ harvests.” He continued, “We hope visitors will encounter and experience many different agricultural machines and that this will lead to purchases.”

Reporter Lee Hyun-woo leehw@agtechkorea.com