DeepVisions Uses AI to Spot Vineyard Disease Earlier

The useful part

A sick vine rarely looks sick at the most pivotal moment: by the time a grower notices obvious leaf damage while walking the rows, a disease or pest problem may already have spread through part of the vineyard. DeepVisions thinks AI can drastically narrow that gap by examining drone or smartphone photos and directing growers to the spots that need attention first. We met the Korean startup who pitched their VisionPlus system which is designed to turn field imagery into a map of possible plant-health risks.

How it works

• Adding crop analysis to that workflow could make deployment easier, but it also illustrates the central business challenge: AI can analyze an image only after a customer has an affordable...
• The point is not to replace an agronomist's judgment, but to make the inspection process faster, more thorough and more targeted.
• Grapes are high-value crops, disease can move quickly, and manually checking every vine is time-consuming.
• After the company's presentation, the most revealing detail was the logistics.
• For farmers who already own and operate drones, that may be straightforward.

What to take from it

For those who do not, DeepVisions may need a service-provider, rental, or reseller model. Park described discussions with a drone company in Africa whose equipment is already rented to farmers for pesticide spraying.

Details worth keeping

In Seoul, I spoke with Sang-hyun Park, DeepVisions' CIO, in person.