US fruit and nut farmers receive assistance from an African drone company through AI technology.

Aerobotics, a South African company based in Johannesburg, is utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) to help fruit and nut farmers improve crop yields. Despite being only nine years old, the company is already operating in 18 countries, with the U.S. being their largest market, followed by South Africa, Australia, Spain, and Portugal. Its customers produce tens of millions of tons of fresh produce every year.

The largest customer base for Aerobotics is located in California, where the company has the highest concentration of clients. It is reported that California produces over half of all the fruit and vegetables grown in the United States on its 76,000 farms and ranches.

The California Climate and Agriculture network recently stated that the state has much to lose if the worst impacts of climate change on agriculture are not avoided, as it is dependent on weather and water availability.

Aerobotics has utilized AI to reverse the decline in crop production and water efficiency by increasing the amount of produce grown and using water resources more efficiently.

"The fruit and nut industry is facing a global challenge of food security, and everyone is being pushed to do more with less. Aerobotics, with the help of the latest AI and imagery sources, is assisting the industry in making better decisions and increasing yields, as stated by the company's CEO, James Paterson, in an interview with Planet Chronicle Digital."

He stated, "Our platform is utilized by a variety of fruit and nut producers across the U.S., including citrus and table grape growers in California, apple producers in Washington, and nut growers in Arizona and New Mexico. We have mapped over 600,000 acres of farmland in the U.S., and growers are uploading over 1 million images of fruit per month through our system, which helps them expand their knowledge."

Paterson, with offices in Cape Town and California, grew up on a fruit farm in South Africa and witnessed the risks involved in fruit production, which sparked the idea to use data to enhance operations and knowledge.

At MIT, he studied cutting-edge AI and drone technologies while working on addressing agricultural challenges. Later, he collaborated with Benji Meltzer, an expert in computer vision and software systems, to establish the Aerobotics team, which now comprises 60 members.

Farmers and professional drone pilots use drones and mobile phones running AI software to gather data on fruit and trees.

Farmers worldwide in South Africa commonly use porches or balconies, which are referred to as "stoeps." Paterson boasts about "farming from a stoep" by using drones to assess his produce from his armchair.

AI can be accused of thinking as it uses Aerobotics software and AWS servers to analyze data and images of fruit, report on their health and status, and predict crop yield. This information helps in planning for packhouses, sales teams, and retailers.

AWS declared that their AI system has reduced the time required to monitor trees for pests and diseases on a 50-hectare farm from an entire day to just 20 minutes.

According to Paterson, AI models are used to analyze imagery and detect individual fruits, as well as calculate various metrics such as size, color, and external quality or blemishes.

"The data is analyzed using hyper-localized forecasting models to predict future outcomes."

Paterson stated that as data is gathered on a farm, AI models are fine-tuned to that particular environment. This allows the models to learn and adapt to localized growing conditions, improving forecasting accuracy and allowing for comparisons with previous years.

"A digital model of each tree on the farm is created by an AI program, which tracks it over time and optimizes it for maximum fruit production. Drones equipped with thermal and multispectral cameras are used to gather data, either by the grower or through a third-party pilot network," said Paterson.

In a world where water scarcity is becoming more common, the Aerobotics AI can detect irrigation problems such as leaks, pressure issues, and blocked water lines or pipes. Additionally, the software can assist with fertilizer usage and replanting damaged or missing trees. With this AI, farmers can predict when a tree may be damaged or missing, allowing them to get back into production within a year, rather than waiting five to six years for a new tree to start fully producing.

The AI's use of per-tree data improves U.S. food security by determining crop insurance policies and protecting growers' production.

The use of data-driven methods aids in the cultivation of high-quality fruits such as citrus, apples, grapes, cherries, kiwis, table grapes, and pomegranates, as well as nuts like almonds, pecans, and pistachios.

"Matt Allred of Arizona's North Bowie Farming, a pecan nut producer, has started using drone imaging to monitor tree health in their orchards. By examining the drone images, they can identify which blocks have lower health ratings and apply treatments accordingly."

"The technology's effectiveness is evident from multiple flights over time, which reveal that the health of the blocks is catching up to the control blocks after intervention. The drone flights allow us to measure this improvement across hundreds of acres, not just one small block. The uniformity in the health of our blocks is what truly sold me on the technology."

""Our business and customers greatly benefit from AI, which allows us to create models that generalize, learn, and operate effectively at scale. With AI and imagery, we can increase data collection efficiency by more than 10 times," Paterson of Aerobotics stated."