From January 6 to 9, 2026, CES® was held in Las Vegas, Nevada, bringing together people from around the world who are passionate about the future of society and industry. Known as one of the world’s largest technology events, CES® has evolved far beyond a consumer electronics show into a global platform where technologies and visions from across industries converge.
At CES® 2026, Kubota exhibited under the theme “Smart Innovation for You.” Through this theme, Kubota showcased how it is addressing global social challenges—food, water, and the environment—by delivering human-centered, smart innovations that help shape a sustainable future.
Why CES® Matters to Kubota
Since its founding, Kubota has continuously worked to improve people’s lives by delivering safe water and supporting agriculture through mechanization. Today, global challenges such as labor shortages, constraints on water resources, and climate change are becoming increasingly complex.
CES® serves as an important opportunity for Kubota to clearly communicate how it is confronting these challenges and what kind of future it envisions. Alongside its initiatives in automation, AI, and robotics, Kubota also highlighted achievements through partnerships with technology leaders—communicating not only technological advancements themselves, but the value and possibilities they unlock beyond technology.
Technologies Born from Real-World Challenges
Kubota’s CES® 2026 exhibit was structured around three key areas, based on real on-site needs and Kubota’s technology roadmap.
1. Autonomous M5 Narrow — Practical Automation Designed for the Field
Kubota introduced practical automation technologies designed to directly address labor shortages in the field. The Autonomous M5 Narrow is based on Kubota’s narrow-width tractor already deployed in the North American market, primarily for specialty crops such as wine grapes, orchards, and vegetables.
At CES® 2026, Kubota presented a model equipped with an autonomous driving system developed by Agtonomy as part of its open innovation initiatives. The exhibit demonstrated how Bloomfield’s sensing technology captures crop conditions as data to support everyday tasks such as mowing and spraying. Integration with Kubota’s proprietary WorkSmart AI Perception System further illustrated not only operational efficiency, but also a broader approach to farm management, The Autonomous M5 Narrow is commercially available through a limited pilot deployment in select regions of the United States, attracting strong interest from producers as a realistic, implementation-focused solution.
2. Versatile Platform Robot（Type:V）― A Vision for Next-Generation Robotics with Flexibility
The Versatile Platform Robot (Type:V) is a concept model that showcases the potential of next-generation robotics. Designed as a highly flexible, multi-purpose platform, it represents Kubota’s long-term technology vision—one that adapts to diverse crops, terrains, and tasks.
Positioned as a concept that goes beyond traditional machinery, the robot envisions new ways of working across agriculture and construction. At CES® 2026, Kubota exhibited a configuration based on the model previously shown at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, equipped with a bucket loader. Presentations highlighted concepts such as variable vehicle height, width, and center of gravity depending on tasks, automatic attachment and detachment of implements, coordinated operation among multiple units, remote operation, and human interaction through Versatile Light. These ideas drew significant attention from attendees.
3.Digital Twin ―The Next Step Toward Data-Driven Agriculture
Kubota also introduced its vision for data-driven agriculture through a Digital Twin exhibit. By combining sensors, image analysis, IoT, and environmental data, the demonstration showed how a virtual field can be created in a digital space to simulate and visualize future crop growth and disease risks.
Using AI-driven insights*, the Digital Twin concept supports decision-making for water management, fertilization, and harvest timing through a simple workflow: ASSESS → ANALYZE → ACT. This initiative remains under active development and is expected to be gradually integrated into Kubota’s existing digital services in the future.
- *AI‑driven insights are derived through the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze sensor, image, and environmental data, revealing patterns, trends, and correlations that are difficult for humans to detect, and supporting judgment and decision‑making in agricultural operations.
Moving to the Next Stage
While valuing in-house R&D, Kubota actively incorporates external technologies and expertise to develop solutions grounded in real-world needs. At CES® 2026, Kubota showcased many initiatives that are transitioning from vision to implementation, including the Autonomous M5 Narrow and AI-based crop growth and disease prediction using sensing technologies.
Marking Kubota’s third consecutive year of exhibiting at CES®, the company is now entering a phase where validated technologies are being translated into solutions that can be used in actual work environments. Going forward, Kubota aims to expand the application of automation technologies and create safer, more efficient working environments through Physical AI and digital innovations.
Underlying all of these efforts is Kubota’s long-held belief that technology exists to make people’s lives better. With people at the center, Kubota will continue to address global social challenges through innovation.
