NTT, Kubota and DOCOMO test remote robotic farm machinery links in mountainous areas
NTT, Kubota and DOCOMO say a mix of mobile and satellite communications can support remote operation of robotic farm machinery in difficult terrain.
NTT, Kubota and NTT DOCOMO have presented a joint demonstration of communications and video technologies for the remote operation and monitoring of robotic agricultural machinery in mountainous areas. In a May 25 announcement, the companies said they combined mobile and satellite communications with video control technology to keep connections stable within fields and between fields even when network quality changed.
The problem they are trying to solve is closely tied to Japanese farming geography. According to the release, roughly 40 percent of Japan's cultivated land is located in hilly and mountainous regions, where terrain and physical obstacles often weaken mobile connectivity. For robotic machines, that raises the risk of delay and disconnection, which directly affects the safety of remote operation. Stable transmission of both data and video is therefore seen as a basic requirement for real deployment.
During the demonstration, the companies used multi-link control so that mobile and satellite connections could complement each other depending on communications quality. They also applied video compression technology that automatically adjusts to available bandwidth while preserving image quality in the areas that matter most. Those critical zones include the machine travel path and the crops visible in the video feed, which are essential for safe remote supervision.
The initiative is also tied to future regulatory change. The companies said the Japanese government is moving forward with institutional reforms that would allow robotic agricultural machinery to operate on public roads under conditions that ensure safety through remote monitoring. In that context, the demonstrated system is being framed as part of the infrastructure needed for fully autonomous operations and for broader deployment of data-driven agriculture.
Responsibilities were split across the three partners. NTT provided wireless quality prediction technology and a platform for optimal multi-link control, Kubota supplied the robotic agricultural machinery and the demonstration field, and DOCOMO provided the video control system. The technology is scheduled for exhibition at Tsukuba Forum 2026 on May 27 and 28, and the companies say the longer-term goal is not only Japanese deployment but wider international use of resilient digital farming systems.