Robot Takes Over Vineyard Care in Southern Russia
Developed by students and researchers in Russia, the new vineyard robot offers precise plant care, data-driven oversight, and year-round disease prevention—all without human supervision.
Smarter Spraying: Targeting Disease Without Waste
Plant disease remains one of the most persistent problems in vineyard management. Traditionally, growers have relied on either blanket or spot spraying to control infections. Blanket spraying, while thorough, wastes chemicals, scorches healthy leaves and fruit, and harms the surrounding environment. Spot spraying is far more efficient—saving 50% to 70% of materials and reducing phytotoxic risks—but it requires detailed operational oversight and accurate tracking of affected areas. Without it, growers risk missing infected zones and losing yield.
Integrated Vineyard Intelligence
To solve this challenge, Don State Technical University (DSTU) has developed a modular robot that autonomously cares for grapevines. Built under Russia’s Priority 2030 initiative, the robot can prune vines, remove dead wood, spray treatments, and tend to the soil—all guided by real-time data.
What sets the system apart is its all-in-one approach. According to project leader and third-year student Maksim Narubin, the robot offers full-field oversight through what he calls a 'digital shadow'—a geotagged digital twin that logs the health, treatment history, and physical coordinates of every vine. This enables precise mapping of spray zones, tracks outcomes, and allows the robot to autonomously plan its movements using GPS and environmental sensors.
The robot connects to a local server where data from the digital twin is analyzed. Its battery is swappable, allowing for quick field replacement or charging near the vineyard. The system continuously evaluates soil conditions, plant health, and atmospheric variables to carry out only the required treatments.
Serving Growing Vineyards with Scarce Labor
The demand for such a solution is growing. Between 2015 and 2025, vineyard acreage in Russia expanded by 25%, reaching 110,200 hectares. From 2019 to 2024, 773 new vineyards were registered across five regions—Crimea, Krasnodar, Stavropol, Rostov, and Dagestan.
DSTU’s robot helps address multiple pain points: it cuts chemical use through spot spraying, lowers environmental impact, and mitigates the labor shortage that’s plaguing the industry. It also boosts profitability by ensuring every vine receives timely care, reducing crop loss.
Its data-rich digital twin becomes a decision-making tool for agronomists—enabling performance analysis, predictive diagnostics, and planning. The robot is ideally suited for small to medium-sized farms (1 to 20 hectares or more) and is set to launch at pilot sites in Rostov and Krasnodar in the near term.
Toward a Smart Farming Ecosystem
Future enhancements may include irrigation modules, microclimate monitoring, and compatibility with other crops—creating a full-service agricultural automation suite. International interest is already building: the robot may be offered as a SaaS-based service via partnerships with agri-tech centers in the Global South.
