Russian Researchers Develop Drone-Based System to Detect Colorado Potato Beetles
Scientists at the Artificial Intelligence Center of Novosibirsk State University have developed a system that uses drones and neural networks to detect Colorado potato beetles in potato fields. The research team has already begun field trials of the technology.
Today, agronomists typically inspect fields by walking diagonal survey routes and examining plants at selected locations. While this provides a general assessment of crop conditions, it does not reliably identify infestations at an early stage. As a result, pesticides are often applied across entire fields even though infestations are usually confined to relatively small areas.
The new system is designed to replace blanket pesticide spraying with targeted pest control. The drone carries a module equipped with four wide-angle cameras that capture a broad swath of crop rows in a single pass, along with an onboard computer that analyzes the images and identifies adult Colorado potato beetles.
After the flight, the collected data are transferred to the agronomist's laptop, where a field map displays the locations of detected beetles. This allows pesticide treatment to be limited to the affected areas.
