DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES IN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION: IMPLEMENTATION BACKGROUND, CURRENT STATE AND DEVELOPMENT TRENDS

Abstract

Digital technologies have been deeply integrated into our lives and found their application in all areas of human activity, including agriculture. Technological progress, the development of infrastructure in the IT industry, wider access to the Internet, a high level of education and growing computer literacy of the population contribute to the popularization and introduction of digital technologies in agricultural production. The review of the use of digital technologies in the agricultural sector has shown that existing software tools help plan the work of an agricultural organization, monitor the state of production, manage the farm, and sell products on virtual trading platforms. Most software products are able to store data in the cloud, and farmers can access the system via their personal account from any device with Internet access. There are also a number of programs on the market that allow farmers to plan, analyze and control the crop or livestock production. Leading manufacturers of agricultural machinery and equipment are actively integrating digital technologies into their products. It is now possible to manage a fl eet of vehicles used in the fi elds, and implement unmanned control. Use can be made of tractors equipped with automatic systems for driving along rows or laid paths, turning, and monitoring process parameters. The authors propose a set of digital control means to be used in agricultural production, based on the application of technologies of the Internet of things, cloud data storage, big data processing, and artifi cial intelligence. It is the technologies that digital agriculture will be based on, which use robotic monitoring tools to collect information and transmit it to “cloud data storage”. It is processed there and directed to the control system, which develops the optimal solution and transmits the control signal to the robotic actuators. In this regard, the development of agricultural machinery should be focused on the robotic tools designed for monitoring and performing technological operations. The most diffi cult task is to develop a control system, since it must have elements of artifi cial intelligence and replace humans in agricultural production.