John Deere Sentera, an aerial symbol provider that has acquired 188-year-old agricultural manufacturer Sentera, continues to expand its capabilities in precise agricultural technologies.
Sentera’s field strategy platform allows farmers to collect high-resolution multispectral images Drone– Install the camera. The data are then processed with Sentera’s Fieldagent, which uses AI and machine learning to help farmers evaluate plant-level health, determine crop stress, and take appropriate measures.
Currently, Sentra’s main use case is weed management. Equipped with delayed drones flying at high speeds and producing high-resolution images that determine the exact location of a particular weed and are used to generate weed plots. Sentera’s Smartscript Weeds uses maps to produce targeted prescriptions to get farmers to load their sprayers with how much herbicide they need. Once generated, the prescription will be sent wirelessly to the John Deere device through its operating center.
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Weed drawings are not the only actionable data that the Sentera platform can produce. It can also be used on site to evaluate pests, crop structural uniformity and disease.
Sentera’s co-founder and chief technology officer Eric Taipale said the St. Paul, Minnesota-based company has been working with John Deere for nearly 10 years, and it is its first “integrated partner” data. These partners agree to integrate their solutions that typically deliver data, technology or services with the John Deere ecosystem, including open source operation centers.
“Combining Sentera’s image capabilities with the John Deere Operations Center will enable farmers and trusted consultants to seamlessly collect and integrate agronomic data, understand real-time conditions, and transform data into insights that drive on-site decision-making throughout the growing season,” said Chris Winkler, Director of Digital Software and Solutions at John Deere.
After the acquisition, without disclosure of its financial terms, the two companies will not undergo any significant changes, at least immediately, John Deere Global Tech Marketing Liefer said Sentera will operate as John Deere’s business unit and continue to develop its aerial image and agronomic data products and provide data to the operations center.
The transaction is also not expected to have a big impact on the company’s existing relationships. Sentera will continue to provide cameras to drone manufacturers for use in their products and sell them to farmers, agronomists and agricultural retailers, while the operation center will continue to be open to other drone symbolic providers.
Looking ahead, companies will seek synergy. For example, John Deere is currently developing its cameras and imagers installed on ground equipment in-house; integrating aerial shooting into data combinations from Sentera-equipped drones is a natural fit, Liefer said.
“John Deere has provided us with a great result, which is the right place for Sentera to live,” said Brian Wenngatz, CEO of Sentera. “They are industry benchmarks for precise agricultural innovation and they agree with our belief that the future of access to these technologies is built on trusted relationships, measurable insights and scalable platforms. Together we will be able to support more farmers and help them unlock more value.”
This article appears for the first time in a sister publication of AI Business Today’s Internet of Things world.
