PerPlant offers a low-cost and easy-to-use camera-based AI assistant that empowers farmers with real-time detection support and automated control of fertiliser and pesticide use. Their solution is a plug-and-play AI assistant in a box on the tractor that gives the farmer an affordable and easy way to collect and process data and make decisions based on it in real time. According to CEO and co-founder Rasmus Emil Hansen, PerPlant’s solution is quite unique and will make a real difference to farmers’ lives:
“Our solution saves up to 90% of plant inputs, increases yield by up to 4% and saves 294 tonnes of CO2 per season.” The business idea is based on ease of use and affordability, both of which are harder to achieve with technologies such as satellites and drones.
Overcoming AI Hurdles Together
An excellent team is essential for success in shaping the future. According to Hansen, the key to success has been the co-founder, who was identified through the VC accelerator programme by Antler. Hansen comments:
“We have faced many challenges, but with a great co-founder we have shared the vision and kept progressing no matter what came our way. It requires a special kind of Founder mentality.”
AI solutions need a lot of attention to detail to succeed. Hansen says data quality and labelling is essential for training the AI model. One obstacle is access to data representing all the contextual information.
“Eventually the AI will find its patterns with the magnitude of data. This is where our whole vision taps in – to be able to support a scalable data infrastructure, we have focused on democratizing access to data by having an automatic process for data collection throughout the entire seasoning,” Hansen explains and says that it is called “eyes on the tractor”.
New Horizons: Strategic Expansion and Innovations
Interference in satellite signals and minimising its impact on society is a hot topic, as for example jamming affects the ability of businesses to operate. PerPlant’s solution ensures farmers can still operate even if GPS fails.
“This means that the system will fall back on the average rate given by the farmer, which means he will not get the savings, but still be operational,” Hansen says. In the pipeline PerPlant crew is working on using detection of tractor tracks with the camera as a method for calculating coordinates in the field, rather than using the GPS. They are also planning to add new features to the product that will allow it to scale ground truth field monitoring without farmer involvement.
Innovation is truly needed in agriculture to, for example, correct nitrogen and phosphorus cycles, create and regenerate biodiversity and sequester carbon back into the soil.
“We are making it easy and simple to do precision spraying and monitoring and thereby reduce the negative impact that pesticides and fertilizer have on the planet. Our aim is to grow and expand into 4-5 new countries in the future,” Hansen concludes.
- Visit PerPlant’s website: perplant.ai
- Follow them on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/perplant
Rasmus Emil Hansen will take part in a panel discussion at the ‘Supercharging green business – AI and Location Intelligence in the Bioeconomy’ event organised by the Location Innovation Hub. The event will explore the transformative potential of AI and location intelligence to drive innovation in the bioeconomy sector. Join the live stream! View the programme details and register now: Supercharging green business: AI and Location Intelligence in the Bioeconomy, 19 November at 15:30–17:30.
