Home PageBlogagricultureIn Autonomous Russia, Tractor Drives You

In Autonomous Russia, Tractor Drives You

Two Russian companies have teamed up to make an advanced autonomous driving system for agricultural vehicles. Rusagro, one of Russia’s largest agricultural companies, joined with Moscow startup Cognitive Pilot on a project they’ve named Cognitive Agro Pilot.

Cognitive Agro Pilot purports to be a level 3 autonomous system, which means a truly self-piloting system that requires virtually no human intervention. Most new consumer cars are level 1, so they have an assortment of “assistance,” but still require the driver to steer and otherwise interact at all times. At level 2, like Tesla’s Autopilot, vehicles can limit the need to steer or even to brake with the flow of traffic.

Agriculture is a perfect testing ground for fully autonomous “eyes off” level 3 vehicles, because large swaths of farmland need to be planted, treated with fertilizers, and so forth in very regular patterns. Farms around the world have faced a labor shortage for years, and that’s been rapidly accelerated by the global COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.

But where more attention has sometimes been paid to skilled manual labor like picking, Cognitive Agro Pilot seeks to supplement a limited workforce for advanced farm machinery. By taking the element of driving out of the equation, workers can concentrate “more on managing and controlling other harvesting parameters,” says Olga Uskova, an AI researcher and Cognitive Pilot’s CEO.

Uskova told Robot Report the new system is unique for its reduced reliance on sensors and GPS, both of which lower operating cost for farmers. Instead of an array of sensors and cameras and other bells and whistles, the system uses input from just one camera to feed a custom neural network that helps plan ahead and adjust for obstacles like workers on the ground.

Instead of synthesizing several inputs that each handle separate ideas, this system parses one input for everything. From Cognitive Pilot’s website:
“The basic technology of the system is the analysis of images coming from on-board video cameras via computer vision algorithms. The system is able to ‘understand’ the types and positions of objects along the way, build trajectories and give control commands for the necessary maneuvers to be made. [A] detailed obstacle map is built up around the robot.”

Autonomous farming is a huge field of research and development, and this simpler, less costly system offers an interesting solution that’s super easy to implement and use. Partnering with Rusagro means the systems will roll out on more than 240 combines around Russia. “It’s noteworthy that the industrial introduction of the system fell in a year when a record harvest of wheat is expected in Russia,” Rusagro’s agriculture CEO, Roman Shkoller, told Robot Report.

Finally, Cognitive Pilot says allowing workers to concentrate on harvest tasks instead of driving will also improve outcomes. “In general, the use of the system can reduce the cost of grain by 3 to 5 percent and reduce its losses during harvesting by two times,” Uskova says. Once COVID-19 travel restrictions are lifted, she says the company will begin selling the system around the world.

Popular
EkoNiva and Cognitive Pilot build service network for autonomous farm equipment
For agricultural robotics to be more widely adopted, farmers will need services to help maintain and repair intelligent systems. EkoNiva Holding Co. and Cognitive Pilot have signed a three-year agreement to outfit farm machinery with the C-Pilot autonomous driving system and create a service network across Russia.
Rusagro launches large-scale autonomous driving pilot with Cognitive Pilot
Cognitive Pilot today announced what it claimed is “the world’s largest autonomous driving project for agricultural machinery” with Rusagro Group LLC. The companies plan to test Cognitive Agro Pilot, a Level 3 autonomous driving system for combine harvesters, tractors, and sprayers.
Tram automation software contract awarded in Shanghai
A consortium of the Shanghai Fuxin Intelligent Transportation Solutions Corp subsidiary of China Railway Electrification Bureau Group and Moscow-based autonomous driving specialist Cognitive Pilot is to develop the AI-based ‘computer vision system’ for trams.
The Rostov company acquired the Cognitive Agro Pilot system for its combines
Cognitive Pilot together with Sberbank completed the first transaction on the sale of the autonomous control system for agricultural machinery Cognitive Agro Pilot in the Rostov Region
Also interesting
Cognitive Pilot wins The European Enterprise Awards 2021
Cognitive Pilot has been awarded "The Best Global Agricultural AI Solution 2021" at The European Enterprise Awards, conducted by AI Global Media Ltd /UK/.
New autosteering system works without GPS
Cognitive Agro Pilot is using computer vision and machine learning for precision guidance. The system detects obstacles, including people, animals, metallic objects and stones along its way, without GPS navigation and RTK positioning. Cognitive Agro Pilot can operate in territories with a weak satellite signal.
Cognitive Pilot Honored for Overall Harvesting Innovation of the Year at AgTech Breakthrough Awards
Cognitive Pilot, a global technology company supporting the transportation and agriculture sectors with innovative software, hardware, and artificial intelligence (AI) backed systems, has been awarded ‘Overall Harvesting Innovation of the Year’ at the AgTech Breakthrough Awards.