Vice-Rector for Strategic Development Petr Afonin spoke about scientific developments that can change agriculture.
For example, the researchers of the Department of Photonics developed the project “Smart Greenhouse on Solar Energy”. The greenhouse includes a system for monitoring and controlling the light of phytolamps, the microclimate, the supply of fertilizers and irrigation. This can increase land use efficiency by up to 60%, and agricultural facilities in remote areas can be provided with power. Specialists have created combined LED phytolamps, powered the lamps from flexible solar panels, introduced lamps and solar panels into the greenhouse, and created a smart monitoring and control system.
Another innovation is the portable digital x-ray machine for seeds. The project is being developed by the employees of the Department of EPU together with the colleagues of CJSC “ELTECH-Med”. The current sample has already been transferred to the Agrophysical Research Institute. The development will make it possible to conduct research on seed material of cereals, legumes, fodder, vegetables, industrial, fruit, flower crops and tree forest species, as well as to make a forecast of laboratory and field germination of seeds without germination. That is, experts will be able to give recommendations: to sow the seeds completely, adjust the seeding rate or reject the batch. In particular, unsuitable seeds can be examined to see what went wrong – infected, germless, hidden sprouting, enzymomycosis depletion, or damaged by insects.
Feeding and milking cows should be simplified by hybrid intelligence technologies. And for tractors and combines, LETI is developing a technology for remote control of vehicles and the state of electric drives. And this is not all the novelties: there is also the technology of hyperspectral analysis, work is underway to create endoprostheses, RFID tags and conformal technologies for monitoring the physiological state and location of cattle.
“LETI is ready to conduct professional retraining of employees of the agricultural sector under the program “Leading a Digital Transformation Company,” Petr Nikolayevich told us.
Scientists have already held the first presentation of innovations for the agro-industrial complex on the basis of Pervomaisky Breeding Plant JSC in the Vyborgsky District.
The ETU “LETI” vice-rector noted that most of the technologies for the “smart farm” at Russian enterprises are foreign-made. Therefore, in the issue of import substitution, the scientific achievements of LETI are of great importance.
— The university is in constant search of investors, so that it would be possible to reach new levels of development, — said Petr Nikolayevich.
It is important to understand that it is difficult to introduce innovative technologies into small businesses without an established mass production. So far, only large enterprises can afford to use technology.
