Greeneye AI System Fights Weeds with Targeted Spraying

Herbicides are not only harmful to the environment but also add costs for the farmers who use them. That is where Greeneye's selective spraying system comes in, as it is claimed to apply herbicide only when weeds are detected.

The system, developed by Israeli agtech company Greeneye Technology, consists of a series of downward-angled camera modules mounted along the boom of third-party herbicide sprayers. The sprayer can be towed by a tractor or built into another machine.

As the sprayer moves across a field at speeds of up to 25 km/h, Greeneye's AI-based computer vision system is reportedly able to distinguish crop plants from weeds passing under the modules. When a weed is spotted, the spray nozzle above that plant is activated to treat it with herbicide. Until weed spots are detected, however, no herbicide is applied.

Farmers, by contrast, typically spray entire fields to catch weeds wherever they are. This means they treat far more plants than necessary if they only treated the areas where weeds were present. It should be noted, however, that Greeneye still allows users to spray entire fields with residual herbicides that remain in the soil to prevent weed growth.

According to the company, Greeneye can also count crop plants, identify specific weed species, and detect diseases or crop deficiencies. It can additionally generate computer maps showing problem areas in each field.

The Greeneye system was commercially launched in Israel in October 2021, with limited deployment in America's Midwest planned for early 2022. Broader availability in North America is expected to arrive in 2023.

The company says weeds are one of the biggest threats to crop yields. Farmers address the problem by indiscriminately spraying herbicides across entire fields. By some estimates, farmers spend more than $30 billion a year on herbicides. 

In addition, in recent years weed resistance to herbicides, caused by widespread spraying, has emerged as a real threat to food production. Millions of gallons of chemicals sprayed every year cause serious water and soil pollution, harming the environment. The chemicals can also harm human health. 

Greeneye uses AI to move from broadcast to selective herbicide spraying. Distinguishing weeds from crops is necessary for precisely spraying only weeds and cutting chemical use by up to 90%.

The company offers an alternative, sustainable solution to existing crop protection practices, aiming to meet growing global demand for food while increasing profitability and productivity for farmers.

The Greeneye system uses AI and deep learning technologies to revolutionize pest control in agriculture, shifting from today's wasteful broad herbicide spraying to precise, real-time spraying.

Greeneye's patented Selective Plant Protection (SPP) system turns every sprayer into a smart machine with seamless integration. The solution allows farmers to save up to 90% of chemical costs. Beyond significant savings, the system also captures and analyzes field images, giving farmers the deepest possible insight into their crops.

The next revolution in agriculture will be based on technology and precision farming. Today, farmers worldwide face countless solutions and technologies designed to recommend ways to improve their productivity. The company says the next step will be moving from recommendations to the solutions themselves.

Greeneye has a multidisciplinary team with expertise in computer vision, artificial intelligence, agronomy, mechanical engineering, and spraying. The company works with a group of talented and forward-thinking people who aim to provide sustainable solutions for farmers around the world.

Key features of the Greeneye system, which uses AI to move from broadcast to precise herbicide spraying:

• herbicide savings of up to 90%
• operates at speeds of up to 25 km/h
• integration with any sprayer
• adaptable to any row crop
• real-time operation, no connectivity required
• data collection and high-resolution whole-field scouting
• weed analysis and classification
• easy to control
• detection of disease and plant deficiencies before it is too late
• ability to count every plant in a field to support timely replanting and yield estimation