Russia Deploys AI to Spot Land Misuse

In Moscow’s suburbs, land inspectors are equipping cars with AI systems that automatically flag abandoned lots, illegal construction, and even invasive hogweed plants—all in real time.

In the Moscow region, land inspectors are being outfitted with vehicles equipped with artificial intelligence systems designed to automatically detect violations of land-use laws while on the move. The neural networks are trained to identify abandoned plots and buildings as well as overgrowth of hogweed, a fast-spreading invasive plant.

Inspectors no longer need to manually record and upload information. Instead, the system automatically transmits data to a unified platform integrated with Rosreestr, Russia’s federal real estate registry. The software marks all sites where violations are suspected, while landowners also receive automated notifications. In the case of hogweed infestations, those alerts almost certainly lead to fines.

Officials from the Moscow Region’s Ministry of Public Administration, Information Technology, and Communications stressed that the monitoring platform is a domestic innovation. They added that no other AI algorithm worldwide currently offers such a broad spectrum of land-use analysis and control.