South Ural Students Develop Precision Field Spraying System
The system is powered by artificial intelligence.
Two students from Chelyabinsk Region have developed a high-precision field spraying system based on artificial intelligence. Kirill Gvozdkov and Daniil Nizamutdinov are third-year students at the Troitsk Aviation Technical College. They assembled the first prototype of their device in just a few months.
The system, called CROPIVA, is designed to be straightforward to operate. Cameras are mounted on the sprayer boom, allowing a neural network to scan the field and detect even the smallest weeds. The system then signals the appropriate nozzle to open. The herbicide is applied directly to the weed rather than across the entire crop. This approach can reduce chemical use by up to 80%.
In August, the students’ project won Yandex’s Svoe Delo competition. The young developers beat about 1,400 competitors. Only 15 projects reached the final, with just six winning prizes. CROPIVA was among the winners and received 1 million rubles ($~12,500) to develop the project.
The students are now purchasing more advanced equipment and looking for agricultural partners that can test the system on their fields.
