Smart Machines for Weed Control & Beyond - InfoAg · 2017-08-01 · Smart machines Computer vision...
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Smart Machines for Weed Control & Beyond Using artificial intelligence to manage every plant July 2017 Ben Chostner VP Business Development
Transcript of Smart Machines for Weed Control & Beyond - InfoAg · 2017-08-01 · Smart machines Computer vision...
Smart Machines
for Weed Control & Beyond
Using artificial intelligence
to manage every plant
July 2017
Ben Chostner VP Business Development
1C O N F I D E N T I A L
A new era in Agriculture
Hand Tools
10,000 years
Mechanical
1900
Chemical
1950
Biochemical
1990
Digital
NOW
2C O N F I D E N T I A L
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3
4
~500
5
6
Machine learning
9
10
Plant-level crop management using intelligent machines
can apply to the entire farming cycle
Prepare Soil Establish Stand Fertilize & Irrigate
Protect HarvestLearn & Optimize
for Next Cycle
1 2 3
4 5 ↻
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Blue River Technology decided to start with crop protection
Prepare Soil Establish Stand Fertilize & Irrigate
Protect HarvestLearn & Optimize
for Next Cycle
1 2 3
4 5 ↻
starting point
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13C O N F I D E N T I A L
“One weed is threatening to overtake farms”Bayer Crop Science
Waterhemp is now resistant to five herbicide classes: ALS-inhibitors, Triazines, PPO-inhibitors, glyphosate & HPPD-inhibitors
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2015
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8+
# cases of weed resistance to glyphosate,
dicamba or 2,4-D
Source: www.weedscience.org,
Stratus 2012 farmer survey, USDA NASS
60M+Corn &
soybean acres
with herbicide
resistant weeds
Weeds Are Winning the Battle
Update to 2017?
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16C O N F I D E N T I A L
Over 60 people, with deep experience in advanced
technologies and agriculture
20Experts in
AI/ML,
Software,
Robotics
8Hardware &
mechanical
engineers
Commercial & academic experience
at key companies & institutions
8Agriculture
scientists &
engineering
support
17C O N F I D E N T I A L
Ag machinery is specialized for each action
Fertilize
Act
18C O N F I D E N T I A L
Smart machines need to sense their surroundings
Fertilize
Verify
&
Learn
Act
Sense
&
Decide
19C O N F I D E N T I A L
…and verify & learn from their actions
Fertilize
Verify
&
Learn
Act
Sense
&
Decide
20C O N F I D E N T I A L
Verify
&
Learn
Act
Sense
&
Decide
Smart
machines
3 core elements required for smart machines
Fertilize
21C O N F I D E N T I A L
Blue River capabilities enable smart machines
Verify
&
Learn
Act
Sense
&
Decide
Smart
machines
Computer visionMachine learning & deep learning
Robotics
Spatio-temporal database and
analysisOptimization
On-board processing
Development & learning
infrastructure
22C O N F I D E N T I A L
Proof of concept in California lettuce5,000 decisions per minute with ¼-inch spray accuracy
23C O N F I D E N T I A L
After teaching our system to identify cotton and weeds, it
performed better than our agronomist
Deep learning labelsAgronomist labels
Weed missed
by agronomist
Weed ID’d by
deep learning
24C O N F I D E N T I A L
2
4
25C O N F I D E N T I A L
2
5
26C O N F I D E N T I A L
2
6
27C O N F I D E N T I A L
See & Spray uses artificial intelligence to identify and spray
individual plants in milliseconds
Sense & Decide: Blue River’s artificial intelligence identifies
subtle differences between crops (green) and weeds (red)
Act: Only weeds are sprayed,
reducing chemicals by >90%
0.97
0.94
0.89
0.98
0.88
0.98
0.92
0.90
0.83
0.89
0.81
Image of field Detection Selective spray
28C O N F I D E N T I A L
See & Spray technology for cotton weeding
29C O N F I D E N T I A L
Use remote sensing to evaluate efficacy on each plant
2
9
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Liberty (glufosinate) failed to control large pigweedArkansas herbicide trial, August 2016, day of spraying and after 12 days
Prior to application 12 days post
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Dicamba failed to control pigweed >6”Arkansas herbicide trial, August 2016, day of spraying and after 12 days
Prior to application 12 days post
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Paraquat + Caparol controlled pigweed of all sizesArkansas herbicide trial, August 2016, day of spraying and after 12 days
Prior to application 12 days post
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35C O N F I D E N T I A L
See & Spray saves costs and fights weed resistance
Increased ability
to fight resistant
weeds using an
unlocked toolkit of
herbicide options
Reduction in
post-emergence
herbicide costs
by switching from
blanket spray to
spot spray
-50%-90%Reduction
in seed costs
by switching
from GMO to
conventional
seeds
See & Spray application in cotton
36C O N F I D E N T I A L
NOW
See & Spray will see limited commercial release in 2018 for
cotton, then expand to other row crops
Phase 4:
Full See & Spray
Flexible spray tool
Phase 3:
Weeding All Row Crops
Showing Versatility
Phase 2:
Cotton Weeding
Full Commercialization
Phase 1:
Lettuce Thinning
Proof of concept
2012 to 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021+
Self-sustaining
R&D operations
Begin cotton
machine delivery
Expand to soybeans,
peanuts, corn, and
others
Precise spot application
of fertilizer, fungicide,
growth regulator, etc
37C O N F I D E N T I A L
See & Spray to manage every plant
