Kubota’s integrated agricultural AIs system has been awarded the bronze medal in the SITEVI Innovation Awards. These were presented at the recently held SITEVI trade fair in Montpellier, France. Kubota’s AIs system is based on computer vision and Artificial Intelligence (AI) that enables viewing of crops with 3D cameras with a well-balanced degree of detail and time resolution.
The system provides the user with exact information about crop dimensions, which aids real-time sprayer adjustments tree by tree for high-precision plant protection products (PPP) and foliar fertilization. This cuts pesticide usage by up to 40%,fertilizers usage by up 20% and provides a significant saving on agricultural inputs.
The AI innovation includes hardware and software as well as a cloud-based digital management tool with open-source software integration to make this solution inclusive and extendable to third-party digital service providers in the specialty crops sector.
The system is easy to install on the tractor (plug and play, PnP) and includes 3D vision cameras, an AI edge processing unit, as well as attachments. They are all toughened for use in harsh field conditions which demand high performance.
The AIs software consists of a digital platform and an integration center. This is of particular interest, as the data collected, together with third-party prediction models, allows early detection of pests and diseases, phytosanitary treatments based on variable rate application maps, and yield prediction. Usage examples include planning thinning operations, , tree watering and nutritional status, crop development level and vigour control, among others.
