Digital technologies and robotic devices in the agriculture

Abstract

The agricultural industry in the Russian Federation is dynamically developing; the agricultural export amounts to $ 25 billion. In other countries, in turn, this figure is much higher, for example, in China it has exceeded $ 75 billion. The existing potential can be realized if the efficiency of agricultural production is increased by creating and implementing automation, robotization, digital technologies, and artificial intelligence. As a result it may lead to a 2.5-3.5-fold increase in labor productivity; a 2-3-fold increase in the yield of crops; a 3-4-fold cut in energy consumption and material costs, ensuring the ecological safety of agricultural production and the environment. The authors developed the concept of intelligent agriculture and identified the following areas of digital technology applications: integrated production management; digital technologies in crop production, animal husbandry, energy supply, products storage and processing ; digital engineering for rural areas. The authors presented the stages of agricultural production digitalization, including: a system for monitoring the conditions and parameters of agricultural production; information transmission system; artificial intelligence and cloud technologies, setting the foundation for management decision-making; the implementation of management decisions by robotic devices. The authors presented the examples of using digital technologies in soil cultivation, horticulture, animal husbandry, and artificial ecosystems. In animal husbandry, these technologies prove to facilitate the monitoring of the animals movement, their physiological state, parameters of the microclimate on the premises, feed and milk quality control. The Federal Scientific Agroengineering Center VIM is reported to have the necessary educational infrastructure, accredited Master’s and postgraduate studies for training specialists in digital agriculture.