CNH Industrial announced that it has completed its acquisition of a minority stake in Augmenta, an agricultural technology company, focused on automating farming operations using computer vision and artificial intelligence ‘on the edge’, whereby data is processed in real time, directly by the system.

This acquisition will see CNH Industrial become Augmenta’s strategic partner in crop sensing and machinery automation, and also foresees future joint research and development collaboration.

This partnership is further evidence of CNH Industrial’s ongoing commitment to investing in advanced agricultural technologies to strengthen its entire product range, thereby offering its customers rapid and easy access to breakthrough agricultural innovations, which enhance both farming productivity and bring sustainability benefits. Furthermore, it reinforces the product portfolio of AGXTEND, the Company’s accelerator for tech startups.

Augmenta’s real-time precision farming solution uses a roof-mounted system, which contains multispectral 4K cameras that scan the field ahead during normal farming operation, and by using artificial intelligence calculates exactly what the crop needs in terms of fertilizer or crop protection products. This real-time variable rate application prescription is transmitted to the implement instantly, thereby reducing the quantity of such products required, lowering operating costs and enhancing sustainable practices. This advanced system, compatible with a broad range of crops, including small and large grains, cotton, rice and sugarcane, not only analyzes the crop condition – including detecting foliage status and various other visual patterns – but also compensates for environmental factors which may impact analysis, such as light levels. Furthermore, the data from the system is automatically transmitted to a cloud portal, for easy management and analysis, or can be exported in standard format to other farm management information systems.

Augmenta, headquartered in Paris, France, and with offices in the United States, has its research and development campus in Athens, Greece. The company is exclusively focused on developing precision farming solutions based on computer vision and artificial intelligence. To date, the Company’s products are in 16 countries throughout North and South America, Europe and Australia.

Augmenta’s technology will be available globally through the AGXTEND portfolio.