The Incredible Ways John Deere Is Using Artificial Intelligence To Transform Farming

Computer vision specialist Blue River Technology has developed a solution for exactly that, using advanced machine learning algorithms to enable robots to make decisions, based on visual data (just as we would do ourselves) about whether or not a plant is a pest, and then deliver an accurate, measured blast of chemical pesticides to tackle the unwanted pests. Given that traditionally such decisions are made on a field-by-field basis, rather than plant-by-plant basis, the opportunities for efficiency are clear.

Farm equipment and services giant John Deere saw the potential of this development and acquired the start-up late last year and added it to the catalog of high tech, data-powered services it already offers its customers.

It is just the latest move in John Deere’s push to put data-driven analytical tools and automation in the hands of farmers. With the rate of global population growth, the company – established in 1837 as a tool manufacturer – understands that they serve an industry where small efficiencies quickly add up to big competitive advantages.

Already the firm enables automated farm vehicles to plough and sow, under the control of pinpoint-accurate GPS systems. On top of that its Farmsight system is designed to enable data-driven insights to inform agricultural decision making, based on shared user data from subscribers all around the world.

With so much data now available and an ever-growing number of sophisticated tools to crunch through it, it’s no surprise that agriculture is staking its claim to a slice of the AI-driven tech revolution. And it’s a good job too - the industry which provides us with our most basic necessity for survival is heavily affected by weather patterns, climate change, water availability and human migration patterns. And that’s before you even get into the impact that economic and political activity can have.

Pesticides are currently an essential ingredient of big agriculture in order to ensure we can continue to feed the ever-growing global population of our planet.

However, pesticides also carry inherent risks, such as the damage they can do to the environment and local ecosystems, and the hazards that over-exposure can pose to human health. Their production and distribution also has environmental costs, as well as financial costs to the farmers. For this reason, when they must be used, there are a lot of good reasons that they should be used efficiently, and accurately.

Computer vision specialist Blue River Technology has developed a solution for exactly that, using advanced machine learning algorithms to enable robots to make decisions, based on visual data (just as we would do ourselves) about whether or not a plant is a pest, and then deliver an accurate, measured blast of chemical pesticides to tackle the unwanted pests. Given that traditionally such decisions are made on a field-by-field basis, rather than plant-by-plant basis, the opportunities for efficiency are clear.

Farm equipment and services giant John Deere saw the potential of this development and acquired the start-up late last year and added it to the catalog of high tech, data-powered services it already offers its customers.

It is just the latest move in John Deere’s push to put data-driven analytical tools and automation in the hands of farmers. With the rate of global population growth, the company – established in 1837 as a tool manufacturer – understands that they serve an industry where small efficiencies quickly add up to big competitive advantages.

Already the firm enables automated farm vehicles to plough and sow, under the control of pinpoint-accurate GPS systems. On top of that its Farmsight system is designed to enable data-driven insights to inform agricultural decision making, based on shared user data from subscribers all around the world.

With so much data now available and an ever-growing number of sophisticated tools to crunch through it, it’s no surprise that agriculture is staking its claim to a slice of the AI-driven tech revolution. And it’s a good job too - the industry which provides us with our most basic necessity for survival is heavily affected by weather patterns, climate change, water availability and human migration patterns. And that’s before you even get into the impact that economic and political activity can have.