By 2026, Cognitive Pilot (a subsidiary of Sberbank and Cognitive Technologies) will start producing the Cognitive Soil Analyzer system, which will conduct an express analysis of the soil and will save up to 25% of fertilizers when working in the fields.
“Cognitive Pilot won the competition of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia for the development of the Cognitive Soil Analyzer project and its preparation for mass production in Russia, based on domestic electronic components. The competition was held within the framework of the state program "Scientific and technological development of the Russian Federation". According to the business plan of the project approved with the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia, it is planned to start selling Cognitive Soil Analyzer by 2026,” the company’s press service said.
The need for the development of the project is associated with a decrease in the profitability of agricultural enterprises against the backdrop of an increase in the cost of fertilizers, which account for up to 30% of the cost of agricultural crops. An express analysis of the soil of land plots can help farmers, it will allow to determine the necessary coordinates and doses of fertilizer application, for their subsequent point distribution, and as a result, reduce their consumption.
The complex will be a device that is mounted on vehicles, including unmanned vehicles, and with the help of a radiating element and sensors that record the value of the reflected electromagnetic signal, conducts a spectral analysis of the soil to a depth of 1 m. It allows you to map the area where the most important agronomic indicators of the soil will be displayed, such as the content of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, hydrogen, salinity, moisture, temperature, density and other parameters. The expected savings of fertilizers by agricultural enterprises from the use of Cognitive Soil Analyzer, according to experts from the leading industry association InterAgroTech, ranges from 20% to 25% while maintaining planned yield levels. At the same time, production will be carried out entirely from domestic components in Tomsk.
After the release of the development on the market, the company plans to export it to Brazil, Argentina, Turkey, Kazakhstan and Belarus.
“The global market for automatic agricultural equipment for soil analysis today is one of the fastest growing with a high level of demand. Its volume, according to Data Bridge Market Research, is estimated at $4,25 billion and will reach $11,7 billion by 2029 with an average annual growth rate of 13,5%,” the press service notes.
ABOUT COMPANY
In November 2019, Sberbank and Cognitive Technologies announced that they had entered into a legally binding agreement on the creation of Cognitive Pilot, a company specializing in the development of unmanned technologies in the fields of transport, agriculture, computer vision and artificial intelligence. Under the terms of the deal, Sberbank has a 30% stake in the company, 70% of the shares belong to the founders and management of Cognitive Technologies. Cognitive Pilot's clients are the largest agricultural holdings in Russia: Ekoniva, GAP Resurs, GC Step, JSC Firma Avgust, Agrocomplex im. N. I. Tkacheva, Peschanokopskaya agrarian group. The company's products are used in 12 countries of the world, in addition to Russia.