The coasts may get the headlines, but the midwest holds the crown for real-world autonomous vehicles. In fact, Ai-driven vehicles have been operating in Iowa for 10 years already. Colin Hurd, CEO of MACH recounts past Iowa successes, and why future of “off road autonomy” is thousands of different robots for niche uses cases.
Hurd details real-world examples in not just Ai applications, but other industries as well. He explains how removing the human operator, actually opens up unlimited possibilities, solving problems like soil compaction, bulk, and weight barriers. Will Iowa fields, and manufacturing have hundreds of various robot shapes and sizes soon? It looks that way.
While coastal technology hubs dominate headlines, Midwest innovation is quietly driving the future of autonomous vehicles. Hurd, has spent a decade advancing off-road autonomy for applications ranging from agriculture to battlefield defense. Unlike highway self-driving ventures, Mach focuses strictly on machinery operating off public roads. “Public highways are a totally different can of worms, and so what we focus on is essentially any machine that’s gonna move off-road,” Hurd explained.
Rather than selling aftermarket retrofit kits, Mach supplies original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) with factory-integrated hardware and software. Internal autonomy programs often require at least five years of time and heavy R&D investment for a single vehicle platform, creating a major barrier for OEMs managing up to 30 different machine models. Mach dramatically compresses this timeline, once getting an OEM machine running autonomous missions in less than four hours. A prime example is orchard spraying startup GUSS, which used Mach’s tech stack starting in 2016 to commercialize by 2018, scaling to over 100 autonomous units—allowing one operator to run four to eight sprayers simultaneously—before John Deere acquired the company in 2023.
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Disrupting Machinery Design with an Independent Model
Following widespread consolidation where major OEMs acquired independent technology providers, Mach operates as a neutral tech partner. “We wanted to be Switzerland when it comes to technology,” Hurd noted regarding Mach’s open supplier model. This neutral positioning allows mid-tier manufacturers to access advanced technology—such as RADX, a phased array radar sensor built to see through dust during tillage operations—without purchasing from direct competitors.
Why the Midwest Leads Practical Robotics
Autonomy also enables lighter, software-defined machinery that prevents soil compaction. Hurd credits the Midwest’s grounded environment for prioritizing real-world results over tech hype. “In the Midwest, you just don’t get very far unless you have real product market fit,” Hurd said, highlighting how practical problem-solving anchors the region’s edge in robotics.